Yesterday, my sister and I went to visit my Gramma at the assisted living place she's at for a few days. This is a long story which I won't tell publicly, but if you are family or something and happen to want to hear the story, I'll be happy to tell you. Message me or something. :)
Anyway, our visit with Gramma was nice, and when we headed downstairs to leave, we walked past the community living room where several of the residents were sitting. They immediately spotted the children and exclaimed in excitement. We stopped and let them hug, chat, ask questions, and talk about how beautiful and cute they all were. (My sis had my nephew, and my three girls were there). One lady in particular, probably in her early 90's, latched onto me and kept talking to Tess and telling me how beautiful "he" was (she was wearing dark purple), and telling me,
"Give him everything. Give him everything you have. Give him so much love."
She was so passionate and purposeful in what she was saying that it brought tears to my eyes. We stood around for a few more minutes, and she said,
"I never had any children, though I would have loved to. We couldn't have children, and they wouldn't let us adopt because I was protestant and my husband was catholic. But we would have been great parents. Oh, how I wish we could have had a child. I wish you were my daughter."
It seemed shallow after that, but we needed to leave so I gave her a hug, wished her Merry Christmas, and she said again,
"Give him everything you have, all the love you can give him. But don't spoil him. But give him everything."
Her words keep playing in my mind, over and over. Sometimes this world is a sad place. That poor woman.
It's so easy to stop noticing. I want to take the time to actually look into my children's eyes when they talk to me. To sit down and hold Audrey when she asks (which is often). To have conversations with people that mean something. To listen for God's voice. I think it's so important not to let the busy work of life crowd out the important stuff. We've been in a challenging season of life, really for most of this year and I'm rather weary. But there is still so much joy to be found in life. What is bringing you joy?
Very touching Sara!
ReplyDeletethis story brought me joy!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.
I can totally relate. When my Granny Katy was near the end of her struggle with Alsheimer's, she lived in a group home where there were 8 other residents. They LOVED when I would bring the children to visit. Even when Granny got where she didn't recognize us, we still went and the children did enjoy the attention and doting from the other elderly residents. Of course, there was always a candy dish or cookie jar that someone would offer my children and I know they loved giving my kids a treat. :)
ReplyDeleteIt was very good grooming for my children to learn how to interact with elderly, engaging in conversation and answering questions by making eye contact and speaking loudly and clearly. We have older members at church, but the kids don't interact with them in the same way as they did at a home where they were expected to behave respectfully and they were the center of attention. Not because I wanted my kids to think they were special, but because it made the residents feel special that we came to visit.
It was a precious time, I hope it will mean as much to my children later in life as it did to the residents. And to me.