‘A word or a smile is often enough to put fresh life in a despondent soul’. (St. Therese of Lisieux)
Mary and her companion/carer relaxing on a bench enjoying soothing afternoon sun. I plonk myself down beside them. Mary has Alzheimer’s. ‘I have a tale to share’, says I……
Almost fifty years ago one freezing night, I, teenager, travelled home to Kerry from Dublin on a bone-shaker draughty bus. Next to me sat a pleasant lady. We chatted (I have no idea what about!) and next thing I know I’m waking from deep slumber wrapped in a cozy coat, snug as a bug in a rug. My fellow-passenger must have been so cold without her warm coat on that sub-zero bus for a huge part of our journey.
Twenty years later I and my young children visited that same lady’s shop in Kerry, and she told me that soon she would be undergoing surgery in a Dublin hospital. I made a mental note of the date and place. Some days after her surgery took place, kind lady awoke to find little old me sitting on a chair by her bed. She could not believe her eyes!! Favour gratefully returned!
Lady in question, none other than dear Mary, seated next to me once again after many long years, this time on a bench in the afternoon sun. How she enjoyed hearing my happy tale, her companion too.
‘Tell her again tomorrow’, I suggest to her companion (also named Mary). ‘I will tell her every single day’, replies Carer Mary.
Kindness! The gift that keeps on giving!
‘Great love can change small things into great ones, and it is only love which lends value to our actions’.(St. Faustina Kowalska)
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