Looking back over the years with my Grandmother, I find such admiration for her life and the example she was for me. In her younger days, I could picture her as the feisty, full of fun, young lady she was in the 30’s and 40’s. By the time my brother and I were around, she was living up to the “coolest” grandma title. Later in her life when her health and its toll on her emotional health was affecting her, we saw a change.
She repeatedly said to my mother and later to me after Mom’s death, “I’m such a bother” or “I know I am causing you so much trouble.” Huh, perhaps, Mom and I should have quoted today’s rule:
7. Nothing is troublesome that we do willingly.
But I think TJ was hinting at something more that a child or grandchild caring for an aging parent. I think TJ was referring to simple acts of kindness that are random and worth every moment doing.
Think about it. Is it trouble for someone to hold open a door for someone? Is it a bother to look in on someone who needs tending to? Is it troublesome to clear your schedule and just spend time with someone you love? Not if we are willing to go that extra mile…….
I watched how my mother do exactly that. She never resented going to her parents home and helping them out. Whether it was to do laundry, cook supper, or to pay their bills, she never complained. She simply loved doing it for them. I saw it when she worked with her students. She was patient and never grew tired of making a difference in a child’s life. She never thought of it as troublesome to go over the lesson one more time for little Johnny who was having trouble understanding. With her friends, she always did little special things for them. Leaving cookies and a sweet message on their desk. Calling them every evening when they were sick. She loved being a “secret pal.” She lived up to the task at hand and never once complained. And she never got tired to telling Grandma, “You are not a bother, mother. I love you.”
So, be willing and do something nice today for someone who needs a pick-me-up.
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