When I was about ten years old, I lived in the same small town in the heart of Wisconsin as a woman who was quite elderly. I can't remember her name. But I remember what she looked like, and what the inside of her house looked like. I would ride my bicycle to her house on Sunday afternoons. When she answered the door, I'd follow her down a narrow hall between the stairs and a wall decorated with election buttons going back decades. I remember seeing one that said "I Like Ike!" and feeling a sense of bewilderment.
When we arrived in her living room, I would sit on the couch and she would rest in her recliner. If we hadn't started a new book yet, she would have one of her choice waiting on the coffee table and I would start reading it to her. If we were partway through , I would open to the bookmark and continue the story where we had left off.
In those days services like this were often offered to children by the church and not many young kids wanted to spend their time reading to an old woman. She was a wonderful friend and very sweet. I looked forward to Sundays, not to attend church, which I despised, but to read to her, which I loved. I loved her and her fascinating old books, many of which I had never heard of but enjoyed very much.
She was always glad to see me and I have always remembered those days with happiness. I know happened to her-the same thing that happens to us all. We went to San Francisco the summer I turned eleven so I had to stop our visits and I'm sure by the time we returned she was gone. We moved out into the country when we came back so I would have had to ride several miles to see her. (I can't even remember if I stll had my bike then).
I hope someone else took over, that she had someone to read to her until the end. She deserved that joy in her life. It's the little things that mean so much. Yes, holding a door, sending a card, making a phone call, are all important and are kind things to do. But putting in time to bring one person a little happiness, to spend a significant amount of time to bring joy, is something that really makes a difference. Not just in their life, but it will have an impact in your life as well.
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