This is what love, joy, and gratitude look like. This is my mom. She’s 87.5 years old. She was married for 63 years. She had two children. She has three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. I take her to lunch every Tuesday. Sometimes we add a pedicure, or a hair wash and cut, or a stroll through the arboretum, or walk in a mall to our outings. She loves to be out in the city.
Last week our family suffered a great loss: my Aunt Hanna, my Mom’s sister-in-law, passed away. The shiva, the week-long mourning period in Judaism, was the place to pay our respects. I saw friends and family from my life growing up in Dallas to Aunt Hanna’s present life friends and colleagues as a pillar in the community of Dallas.
I took my mom to the funeral and to the Shiva house. Her sadness was evident but her joy and gratitude when she spoke of Aunt Hanna were beautiful and heartfelt.
During that time we were greeting family and meeting new people, I mentioned to my cousin that I need a new, smaller, lighter wheelchair for my mom. She pointed to a woman who could help. I went over to her and introduced myself. I told her what I need and she provided it!! ✨Miracle created. ✨ Green light. 🚦 Yesterday I went to trade her my black, heavy, big-wheel wheelchair for a blue, lighter, four-small-wheeled wheelchair. Mom loved it! She even sat in it during lunch. I am immensely grateful to Carole for being in action and a stand that we get what we need.
Here’s Mom in her new chair:
Even in times of sadness, there will always be things and people to be grateful for and share our love with.
“Look for the helpers,” said Fred Rogers’ mother. Fred Rogers (Mr. Rogers) said, “Try your best to make goodness attractive. That’s one of the toughest assignments you’ll ever be given.” “What really matters is helping others win, too, even if it means slowing down and changing our course now and then.” “We all have different gifts, so we all have different ways of saying to the world who we are.”
Be your best self.
Aloha🌺,
Denise