A Helping Hand

"When a friend is in trouble, don't annoy him by asking if there is anything that you can do. Think up something appropriate, and do it." -E.W. Howe

It is easy to get wrapped up in ourselves.

Around the Christmas holiday season, for some reason, it is easy to try and think of others. It might be easy to imagine a little girl or boy on Christmas morning that has no presents to open. It is easier to think of the homeless shelter that is running low on food, especially around the holidays. It is easy to dig a little deeper and give to those that might be less fortunate, when we are running around and spending so much time and money on our close friends and family.

What do we do though when it is not the "special" holiday season?

Today was a day that illustrated this quote perfectly. I have been blessed in my life to witness this type of giving at times not just attached to the holidays and I would like to share one of these experiences.

For those readers that may not know me or my family very well, you may not know that our family was in a terrible car accident about 3 1/2 years ago. That accident did not end tragically with a death, as some families have had to deal with, but it left my wife in critical care, with no shortage of follow-up care that was necessary. This February, she went in for additional surgery that repaired damage to the skeletal structure in her face, forehead, and eyes. I took off from work as long as I could, and reluctantly returned, in attempt to save some time off for future follow-up surgeries that will take place this year.

 As you can imagine, the healing that must occur does not happen in a few weeks, or even a few months. One of the bigger stresses for me, as her husband, is to see her struggle at home, by herself, with 4 kids. A typical evening is usually seeing her drained of energy and even more disappointment that she does not have the energy to accomplish the many things that she desires to do on a daily basis.

So, how does this relate to this quote today? Today, out of the blue, one of our neighbors just showed up at our house. I am going to name this individual, maybe for posterity, but Cheree Caldwell wanted to help. She is a school teacher by day, and by night has a family of her own to maintain. Because this week is Spring Break, she has a little more time than normal. When she knocked on our door, you can imagine my wife's surprise, as she proceeded to say she was there to pick up the children. She wanted to watch them for the day, so that my wife, can get some much needed rest. Of course Cari, my wife, initially rejected the idea, but Cheree would not let up. She was successful at getting the kids out from under foot.

Tonight, when I returned from a long day at work, it was a different welcome home as my wife relayed all that had occurred throughout the day. Cari was able to get some items from her task list accomplished, uninterrupted by her children. She was able to take a nap, and if you know my wife, that is not an easy thing to do. The graciousness of Cheree did not end there, when she dropped the kids off, she also dropped off dinner, which was hand picked according to the tastes of my children. That also, if you knew my kids, means a lot.

I have had other neighbors and friends that remind me, sometimes people just need a pick-me-up every once in a while. It is a constant reminder that I need to be more conscious of others, and do more to lift the spirits of those around me. I think that we hold ourselves back because we are not sure what to do, but if we spend a little time in thought, I believe that we can think of something to "DO" instead of running around, annoying people by asking, "What can we do."