*I wrote this a couple of years ago when I was still working for Home Health and Hospice. I came across it when I was organizing some things for the new website, and thought it was the perfect time to share. No matter how small the gesture may seem to you, be it a note, a phone call, some time, I encourage you to do it. It could mean the world to someone.
Let me introduce you to Jane. She is 93 years old, and I have been caring for her two days a week for the past year and a half. I do her laundry, make her bed, do some light cleaning, take her for walks. Most importantly, I listen to her. She likes to talk about her five sisters and her mom and dad. And how she can’t believe they are all gone. She will stare at a framed picture of her, her five sisters, and her mom. I can see her going back in time. “I am the last of the mohicans,” she always says. It makes me sad for her, I can’t imagine what that must feel like.
It’s interesting how she focuses on just one part of her life, when she was a young girl. I hear the same stories over and over. I usually can distract her, and get her to focus on her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. But lately, that is getting more and more difficult. And she is getting tired. “Why am I so tired? I should be able to do things!” I tell her it is because she is 93. And she can actually do a lot more than most people her age. She lives independently, cooks for herself, showers, makes her bed. She always seems amazed when I tell her that. Like, what is wrong with those people that they can’t do those things?
When I got to her house today, she mentioned that she was going to make brownies for Thanksgiving. Her son is coming home from North Carolina, and she is so excited to see him. So I offered to help her make the brownies. Oh my goodness, you might have thought I gave her the world! So I got her set up at the table, all the ingredients in front of her. And she proceeded to mix the batter. I had to crack the eggs for her, and help her a little bit with the stirring. It reminded me of baking with small children. She couldn’t contain her joy! She was so thankful and appreciative.
While she stirred, we chatted about Thanksgiving’s past, when she was a girl, who came to dinner, what they had. When I put the pan in the oven, she said “I can’t wait to tell my family what you did for me.” I replied that I didn’t do anything, just helped a little. Because, really, that’s all I did.
Every time I leave her house, she thanks me profusely for being the best, “most kindest” person she knows, and how grateful she is for me (she’s definitely good for the ego). Today, when I left, she thanked me over and over again for helping her with the brownies.
“Jane, it’s just brownies.” But to her, it was so much more.
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