In Chapters 28 – 32 in my book of life, I used to deliver meals to senior citizens. To this day, that is the best job I ever had! I learned empathy, the meaning of poverty, resilience, and community. Even now, I want to cry remembering how special those moments were for me. I learned a whole different meaning for the word love. I loved those people and I was dedicated to delivering their meals each and every day. I never missed a day of work. I was like the post office, meals delivered even on holidays. Today, as I was going through one of my totes, I found cards and little notes from a few clients. I got so emotional.
I remember I had a client who was 92 years old. I came to deliver her meal and her son said she was in the hospital. I was so worried. She was one of those old ladies that was effortlessly cool and stylish. I wanted to be like her when I grew up. It isn’t working for me at all. Not cool or stylish. More nerdy and awkward. When she was out of the hospital and her meal delivery resumed, I was happy to see her. I told her I had been worried and I was glad she was okay. She said, “Honey, only the good die young.” I loved her even more after that. I can only imagine the adventures she had.
I had another client who her and her husband both received meals. One day, I came to their apartment and her husband had passed away. Understandably, she was devastated. I gave her a hug, her meal, and we talked for a little bit. The next time I saw her, she thanked me. She said she needed that hug and my kind words. I am still happy to this day that my one small gesture had an impact on her. There were other stories like this where the husband or wife died and those poor seniors were all alone. It became even more important to me to be the bright spot in their day.
It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. A dog bit me on the butt. It was actually funny, but it could have been worse if he was a bigger dog. The sons of the moms trying to talk to me. When you have to see someone five times a week and they don’t take the hint, it gets annoying. I even had one of the male clients try to mouth kiss me. Yuck 🤢! He was a 90 something year old man. I’ll give him credit, he did look good for his age, but still, Yuck! The kicker, he was married to some young thang. Well, younger than him by about 40 years. Of course, there was the times I arrived at a home and found out a client had passed or them being removed from my route because they died. I was so attached to my seniors. It made me extremely sad to ride past their house on the way to someone else. I always thought about them and missed speaking with them.
I wished that back then I was rich. I would have done that job for free. Unfortunately, I was poor, and working for minimum wage could not sustain me. I ended up accepting a permanent position at Target and I could not continue to work both jobs. I let my seniors go. Thankfully, the people who worked there had the same love for the seniors as I did, and no beats were missed. Another benefit from that job, I made lifelong friends. There are a couple of people I still talk to or hang out with to this day.
Even now, when I see cute little old people, my heart clenches from their adorableness. Seniors still have my heart. I am so glad I kept all those little notes and cards. It brightens my day to break them out and read them every so many years. If I had this life to live over, I would get rich and deliver meals until I couldn’t do it anymore. On top of some other things, but we won’t go into that today. Stay well and whole. Much Love 🧡 💚
