Coming To The Aid Of Others

There is a woman that I know that always comes to the aid of others. She asks nothing in return, except for the respect that she deserves. She assists anyone and everyone. She is eighty – six years old and still helping everyone with everything.

         First of all, she houses her nearly thirty year old grandson, who suffers from a form of autism called Asperger’s Syndrome. This causes him to sometimes have extremely ugly outbursts. Instead of holding this against him, his grandmother just takes whatever verbal abuse he spats, and waits patiently for the apology that she knows will eventually come. Even at her age, she still cooks and cleans for him.

         And that grandson is not the only one. There are three other adult grandchildren that she still helps out on a regular basis. Whether they need money, food, advice, or prayer, she is always available to help, day or night. 

One needed a co – signer to get a car. This elderly grandmother signed. When that same granddaughter was involved in a very bad accident, there was Grandma, at her bedside. She also stayed out of town for a month to help her granddaughter, and bought a multitude of things for her granddaughter’s house. She even set up all the cabinets for her.

         Another granddaughter was involved in a very bad marriage. She often went and sat at her grandmother’s to get away from home. She would spend hours upon hours at her grandmother’s, crying and complaining. This involved grandmother would sit with her, hold her hand, wipe her tears, and offer her advice and assistance. She supported her granddaughter through a messy divorce and custody trial, as well. Now, when her granddaughter has problems at work, she is still there for her,

         A second grandson has also benefited from having his grandmother around. Although he lives in another state, he still calls upon her for comfort and advice. He also calls for money whenever he needs it, and if she has it she sends it to him. Whenever he comes to visit, she makes her home available to him, his girlfriend, and his very large dog.

She still, at eighty six, helps babysit her three great – grandchildren. They are ages nine, eight, and three. They stay with her for a week at a time, day and night. She cooks for them, as well. If they don’t want what she prepares, she will go out of her way to give them what they want to eat. She does their laundry, sees to their boo – boos, and entertains them. She also helps them study for school and their religion classes.

She also volunteers at her church, participating in groups, working the front desk, participating in prayer chains, or anything else that needs doing.

Anytime anyone in the family needs help, she is there. She has opened her heart and home to various relatives over the years. Some of these relatives she barely knows, or hasn’t even met at all, but she still welcomes them with open arms. She will cook for them, and if they come with pets, she accommodates them.

Speaking of pets, there are two dogs that would not have ‘fur ever’ homes if not for this woman. In both cases, the owners were unable to keep the dogs for various reasons. She voluntarily adopted them and welcomed them in.

She even lends a helping hand to nature. She has numerous plants and flowers in her yard. She tends to her plants with the same kindness and compassion that she shows to her family and friends. There are plants in pots, and some in the ground. Believe it or not, at her age, she still mows her own yard!

Everyone that she comes across in her life says how wonderful she is and how blessed her family and friends are to have her around.

There is one other person that she has helped out more times than can be counted. That person is none other than me. Not only did she raise me, but she was there for me through my first wedding. She was with me for the births of all of my children. I had to have Caesarian deliveries, so she put me up at her house during the recovery time because my husband was of no help at all. She babysat my children so that I could finish college. She was there for me during my divorce, and my second marriage. 

When I needed help cleaning my house, she was there. When I needed help moving, she was there. Most recently, she was there for me when my wonderful husband of twenty – one years passed away. Once again, I had to move, and once again, she was there. While I was packing, she was helping me by staining furniture. She is also there for me when I need to talk, or vent, or cry. She has stood in support of me through career changes.

When her parents became ill (both in their late eighties), she cared for them, even though she had four siblings. She even allowed her father to live with her for a time when he lost his home. When her mother was in the nursing home, she would work all day, then spend hours with her mother. She would hold her hand, talk to her, read to her, etcetera. When both of her parents died, she received no inheritance, and no thanks or credit for the job she had done taking care of them.

As a matter of fact, she very rarely gets any thanks at all for what she does for everyone. In short, the person that I know that I know who always comes to the aid of others is my mother. In fact, the only person she doesn’t come to the aid of is herself. When she is sick or hurt, I practically have to force her to go to the doctor. She will suffer in pain rather than take medication and risk slowing herself down. She cleans her house on a daily basis, she cooks full meals just about every day, and yet she still has craft projects and things that she plans to work on. 

I am happy that this prompt allowed me to share all of this about my mother. She is truly a person that always comes to the aid of others. She stands by the people she loves and makes sure that everything is done for them.