Opportunity By Mary Williams
F
ollowing my father’s death 18 years ago, my mother selected gifts from his things that she felt would be meaningful for each family member. My daughter received the ring my father always wore, my son, his grandfather’s copy of The Prophet and his pocketknife, my husband, his wellworn cooking apron—my mother gave me the coffee mug Dad received as a volunteer with Meals on Wheels at the Project on Aging. Dad was a lifelong volunteer. He was a blood donor. He volunteered at his church and with the Boy Scouts, and as a retiree he gave his time to The Project on Aging in Watauga County. My children recall accompanying him on his route and how he would beam with pride as he introduced them to “his people.” These old memories swirled around somewhere in my unconscious brain as I contemplated what to do with my time this past fall. I am fortunate to live in a neighborhood where people know and care about one another. It is a mix of old family summer homes, now with a new generation of residents, owner occupied homes, and rental properties. The people are as diverse as the dwellings they occupy and range in age from 2 to 86. For the past four years we have gathered for a neighborhood picnic in August. People eat, play, and visit with one another and rarely want to leave when the party is over. This year we were not able to have our annual picnic due to COVID-19. Throughout the spring, summer, and fall, neighbors visited from the road and waved from passing cars. I have felt the most for the elderly as they are more isolated than in years past and I’ve marveled at how the working families
with school-age children juggle their responsibilities and still manage to remain cheerful. A wise, compassionate person once told me, “Opportunities are always present, you just need to look harder in a crisis.” Meals on Wheels resumed their home delivery program as the County reopened in late July. Having read their ad in the paper, I called to volunteer. Around the same time, parents were faced with the difficult decision of what to do about school. One family with whom I am particularly close decided to homeschool their kindergartener, Mia. Mia and I have always liked each other, and I decided to ask her and her mother if we could spend one morning a week in a kindergarten lesson and delivering Meals on Wheels. They agreed. We chose a day and a delivery route was assigned to us. Our first day together was Mia’s first day of school. When I picked her up, her backpack was full of notebooks, pencils, crayons, a stylish mask, hand sanitizer and lunch! We spent the first forty-five minutes learning about the calendar, reading a story and wondering what it would be like to deliver food to people. Mia and I are now several months into our volunteer experience. We have grown and learned a lot. At first, we experienced the formalities of having your temperature taken, filling out forms, counting and remembering our food, learning the route, and meeting and getting to know our people. Mia has blossomed during this time from a cautious child, to one who thinks about what someone might like, what
we can do for them, and what she wants to ask or tell them. In her lunch box she might pack a dinosaur and yo-yo to show Mr. John, and a dog biscuit for someone’s pet. One Monday after a family and friends’ Woolly Worm race, she took her Woolly Worm, named Sassafras, to share. She knew everything about “Woolly Bears,” as they are officially named, and beamed with pride as she answered questions about them. In October, we collected brightly colored leaves to give our friends. She was able to name the tree the leaf came from as we were making a leaf collection to learn about trees. A sweet friendship is developing among all of us and conversation easily flows back and forth. After weeks of placing colorful stickers on bread bags, a woman gave Mia a page of stickers she thought she might like. Both were excited about their gift. Recently a man asked her if she knew what day was his favorite? When she said no, he answered, “Today, because I get to see you!” Last week Mia spontaneously said, “I love volunteering!” I said, “Oh really, what do you like about it?” She responded, “I like it because it makes people happy and me, too.” Opportunity found. As a department of County Government, the Project on Aging serves as the focal point for aging services in Watauga County. The agency encourages independence and promotes wellness by providing supportive services, including the Home Delivered Meals Program, commonly referred to as “Meals on Wheels,” to the County’s older adults. Learn more at http://www.wataugacounty.org/ App_Pages/Dept/Aging/home.aspx. CAROLINA MOUNTAIN LIFE Winter 2020/21 —
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