On gratitude and the little things

I'm not sure if I can convey to you all the amount of gratitude I have for the American Cancer Society and their Hope Lodge.

For those of you who don't know, that is where we are staying while Pat receives treatment. It is completely free. They have kitchens, and refrigerators, and freezers, and TV rooms, and a community of people who are fighting to survive.

Can I honestly say I like all of the people that stay  there?

No. Remember, I don't like people much. (There is this one couple the hoards the remote and steals it from other people while they are on bathroom break and then changes it to MOTHER PUPPY SOAP OPERAS. Every time. And she chews with her mouth open.)

But, all of the people there want to live and they want to tell their story. I'm positive God sent me up here to help give them some hope.

One lady cannot wait to meet the person that donated bone marrow for her to live. She wants to make it to a year so she has that option and she is praying that he wants to meet her too.

One lady heard me skyping with my son and the next day as I was putting away laundry, she came up and gave me a kiss on the cheek and hug and said, "From one mother to another." I later found out she is here caring for her son who is battling cancer.

We met a lady yesterday who has no family to help care for her so she relies on friends to get her to and from the hospital. She just wanted to talk and tell us how lucky we were to have each other.

One young man receiving chemo here let it slip that his birthday was tomorrow (a few days ago). He also mentioned he would be here getting chemo on his birthday. I went and got him a balloon and a Mr. Pibb (his drink of choice I learned while talking to him) and had it waiting on him in his pod on his birthday. He sent word through every nurse and secretary on that floor to thank whoever thought of him on his birthday. He was filled with joy over a $5 balloon. And he wanted so much to thank me for it (I left it anonymously because he wouldn't know me anyway.)

The residents and employees at the lodge go out of there way to make each other's stay better (except for the remote hoarders). The overnight resident brought in potatoes and cabbage and sausage and asked Pat and I to peel potatoes and put them all in the pot to boil so everyone would have access to a hot lunch.

We came home the other night and one of the residents had made a whole pot of chili for everyone to share for dinner.

After that wonderful mother came and gave me a kiss for being away from my son, I went out and bought ingredients for snickerdoodles. Everyone talked all day about how wonderful those cookies were!

At the end of the day, one person will get up to unload the dishwashers and pretty soon several people follow suit and the kitchen is cleaned up in no time.

Why am I telling you all this?

Because we get bogged down with the minute details of life and we don't stop a cherish the things that matter. People are hurting. Everywhere.

And sometimes the simplest thing you can do for them is to listen to them and make them feel important to you.

You know those people in your lives that just make you feel better by simply being in their presence? Let's be more like them. Pause. Listen. Take time to do something nice for someone else.

You never know how far a short conversation, a hug, or a random act of kindness will go. For some, it gives them the push they need to keep pushing forward and fight the good fight.

If you want to know how to help more, please visit a previous post here. We are still looking for the perfect match for Pat and thousands of others looking for a hero. It could be you.

Be the Hero