This was especially brought home to me yesterday at Lunch Bunch.
As I looked around the table at my friends of over 20 years now, I was suddenly aware –
- Our wonderful long-time waitress/friend is trying to be strong though her co-worker has retired now and she pulls the load for both of them while missing her.
- the owner of the restaurant – also a long-time friend, is having to do what the retired waitress did while TRYING to find another person that he can trust
- one of my friends is suffering from vertigo and had to miss Lunch Bunch a couple of weeks ago because of it. Thankfully, her daughter read up on the problem on the net and found a treatment that she could do at home to help her. She lives alone, except for a sweet little dog.
- Another of my friends has a disabled son who has worked at a hospital in Ft. Smith for years. Because of the new policies of the government, the hospital is requiring vaccinations. He went in with his doctor’s letter, saying the shots would be dangerous for him. The request was denied. They then asked for a religious exemption – valid, but not as specific as his health exemption request. He was denied. He was fired. He doesn’t need to work to feed himself, but for his quality of life – his sense of self-worth as a man. The fight continues.
- A third friend’s husband just had surgery to remove a skin cancer that required a graft. The surgeon got it all, thank goodness, and her husband is just ‘grumpy’ about not being able to go back to work yet.
- My own life is challenging due to the changing side effects of the mini-strokes my husband has suffered.
Whether you know the people you see each day or not, the loads are carried. We need to be aware of this as we try to solve our own problems and try to deal with the many changes that are happening every day. The extra thought, trying to come up with more patience, a smile, a hug, all may make a difference as we remember all the good things around us.
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