Loving our neighbors has not been cancelled -- Part 1

We live in an apartment building with a lot of elderly people. One of them is a 97-year-old Jewish woman who lives next door. She has been sharing certain parts of her shabbat meal with us for the past few years. A few weeks ago when she knocked on our door, I asked her if she needed anything from the grocery store or pharmacy. She responded with just two things that she needed that week and Hal got them for her when he went shopping that weekend. Last week, she gave us a list of groceries, which Hal again got for her when he went shopping on the weekend. We'll keep checking in on her every week and making sure that she has the groceries that she needs for the week.

I was doing laundry on Monday morning when a sweet elderly couple in their late 80s or early 90s came in to do their laundry. As I was watching them interact, I quickly realized that the husband has fairly advanced dementia. I felt that I should reach out and ask the wife if they were getting everything that they need from the grocery store and pharmacy. The wife looked at me, quietly sighed, and began to tell me about her struggles with getting groceries and caring for her husband, the long list of needs that she has accumulated, and that she doesn't know how it would work to order her groceries over the phone.

I had to fight back tears as I told her that Hal and I would be happy to help her and go buy everything on the list for her. She was totally shocked that total strangers would do that for them! We figured out how she could pay us back for the cost and I told her that she could just leave the list at our door any time. A few hours later, the list was sitting outside our door. We bought everything for her today, wiped everything off with disinfectant wipes, washed our hands I don't even know how many times, and brought it upstairs to her apartment. I honestly don't know if I have ever been thanked that many times for something... she was so unbelievably grateful, and helping her blessed me right back.

The past 7 years with my wonderful husband have taught me to keep an eye out for people around me who are, or may be, in need. It's amazing what you start to see when you start looking.

If you have elderly neighbors, check in on them from time to time to see how they're doing and if they need anything from the store (while staying out of their homes and 6 feet away, of course). Those that cannot leave the house at all right now, and may or may not have family members who can help them, will appreciate it more than you can possibly understand. 💗