day twenty-eight: sweet

I haven't been very sweet lately. I've snapped at Suzy, avoided people, and haven't been very kind in general. I get this way when I get stressed, busy, tired, etc. I get so focused on getting everything done - including our projects for this blog - that I forget to relax...and I forget to be kind to those I care about.

Today was a good reminder. I took some sugar-free candy to homebound church members in nursing homes. I went to see Frances, who is a lively lady recovering from a fall and extended illness; Jody, who can barely speak apart from a few grunts or moans; Mary, who can't hear it thunder; Florence, who often doesn't know where she is; Charles, who thinks he is a college administrator who travels the country; Ethel, a precious little old lady who is always so kind and thankful; and Diane, who usually doesn't know who I am.

In each case, I offered some sweet treats: chocolate, hard candies, butterscotch. But nobody wanted any! At best, I got a disinterested shrug and an acquiescent, "OK. I'll take some." None of them really cared about the candy.

What they did care about was the visit. Each of them was so pleased to have a visitor, and to spend just a few moments chatting. I was thinking that the candy would be a good way to show them I cared. But just showing up meant more to them than any gift I could have brought. And they all kept saying something along the lines of, "You are so sweet to come."

I guess today's culinary care didn't depend as much on the "culinary" part, as long as the "caring" was there. And even though I wasn't feeling all that sweet, it's hard not to be with these senior adults.

day six: icing on the cake

Lemon cake with icing, Grammy's recipe.
Sweet.

We made it for the senior adults at our church, the XYZ group (for Extra Years of Zest...also because it is at the end of the alphabet), and took it to their monthly meeting today. They loved it. I was in a staff meeting and running about five minutes late, but by the time I arrived, the cake was already gone. Suzy (who had arrived on time) told me that they even made a special announcement about her bringing it to the meeting. They thanked us profusely and raved about how delicious the cake was. They were so thankful and so sweet.

But even sweeter? When one of the ladies carried our baby boy around to every single person. At each table someone pinched his cheeks, rubbed his head, played with his toes... They all treated him like he was one of theirs. He was in a room with 50 grandparents: some eccentric, some a little senile, some overbearing, but all of them sweet.

Some of the XYZ group. On the left edge of the picture you can see the lady carrying around our boy.

The food was good. The thanks and compliments were nice. But the icing on the cake was realizing how much these people care about us and our baby.

We began this Lenten season thinking that we would be the ones showing love, care, and grace to others. We experienced it for ourselves from these senior adults.

Sweet.