Thank The Good Lord

Oh, what a heart fueling day. It began with a visit to my buddy, M, the 92 year old fella I occasionally take care of. He is confined now to his bed, to wearing a catheter and is living a wee bit less on this plane. However, when I walked into his room, we gazed at each other then he said: "Longstick" and grinned a big grin! The other caregiver and I spent about an hour trying to bath him, etc. I so thoroughly enjoyed the time with him...even the moments like the one when we had him rolled on one side so we could wash his back and he said to me: "just wait till you get sick" in a less than happy tone. Aye caramba, bout started crying. There's not really much to say in response to things like that. All I could do was just hold his gaze while energetically I bathed him in love. As I was leaving (which I didn't really want to do) and backing out of the room M said repeatedly: "thank you very much." I said: "we all did a good job of working together" and gave him a thumbs up. Though difficult to coordinate his hand, he did his best to reciprocate that thumbs up. Then we just kept waving to each other and smiling. His wife was watching and laughing, saying he could do that all day long. Preciousness incarnate.

But wait, that's not all!
I was helping a farmer friend bag her veggies for the farm market this afternoon. As I did my job she serenaded me with stories of her land mate and friend, M. She lives in a very rural community close to the coast. For the last 2 or so years M has lived in that community. I knew him when he was 8 years old because a good friend of mine was his aide in school. He has Asbergers. He also has a schizophrenic mom. He was one of those kids that for whatever reason fell through the cracks. Fast forward 10 or so years to M living in this community but in less than ideal circumstances. The way he spent his days was to stand at the gate of the property (which very few people drive through) and open and close it. Once my farmer friend got wind of the circumstances he was living in she took him under her wing and for the last year has helped him learn how to cook, open a checking and savings account, drive (bought him a truck with the help of the community) and many other tasks as well as helping him learn work skills. At one point it was decided that he should receive SSI. They prepared him for that interview and told him that almost everyone is denied the first time. Sure enough, M was denied. Soon after though, he said to my farmer friend: "I don't think I need SSI, do you?" She agreed and he never went back.
There are so many beautiful stories within this story. But perhaps the most moving is the fact that this woman took it upon herself to commit to M and the amazing turn around he has gotten to experience...how much his life has expanded cuz one person cared.

Just one more...
I was at the farmers market visiting with my 94 year old friend, HarveyLee. She had mentioned this story last week but when she mentioned it again in the particular way she did today, I took notice. She has two daughters. One lives in Waco and the other here in CA. For reasons I am not clear about, HarveyLee is worried what might happen to her if both her daughters were unable to care for her. She thought for sure she'd just be left out on the street. I told her that if anything were to happen and her daughters couldn't take care of her that I would. She didn't miss a beat and then said: "You promise?" I put my hand out to shake and said; "I promise." And then I made sure to let her know it might not be a life of luxury or anything but I would most definitely take care of her. She made it a point to say: "you know, I'm not gonna be getting any younger (with a huge pile of implications inside of it!!!)" and I told her I knew that and it was ok. We both had a good laugh that came from a shared understanding of what that might mean!!!

Really, what a great, great day.
Hope yours was, too.