I feel kinda bad this time around since all I do is sit on my butt while the kids do the meal deliveries. I don’t really know any of the people we’re delivering to, but once the weather gets nicer I’ll get all the kids out of the van and introduce us all proper-like. And the kids plan to start drawing or coloring pictures for all the people on our route (15 people, about 10 stops since some stops are husband/wife).
I do know that one of our stops has 10 grown kids! He called me a lightweight for only having 4 so far! Some of these people just want someone to talk to, and I wish I could chat with them all day.
I honestly tear up when I see these people open the door with such delight when they see Joel with their food. So my heart melts about 10 times every Friday, which makes me highly recommend anyone doing a Meals on Wheels route.
Michael doesn’t want much to do with the deliveries since he’s not so social, but Joel (and sometimes Callie) does a great job and learns a lot about who gets what kind of food (one hot tray and one cold bag to each house; some get a diet tray instead; some get 2 frozen meals to tide them over for the weekend). Someday soon it will also be a great homeschool lesson in maps, geography and navigation.
Often a client’s son will meet us outside to take the meal, and I think that maybe someday my kids will be hanging out with me on a Friday either waiting for my Meals on Wheels lunch or making me something.
All 4 of my grandparents are 80 or almost-80 now, and they are all able to cook for themselves still or, in the case of my mom’s parents, hit the Taco Bell out in the country every other day. I pray there will always be someone to take care of them and make their meals for them and be a source of company.
And please don’t leave me comments about how great I am for volunteering for Meals on Wheels … I do it because Joel really wanted to and I want him to see how great the elderly can be. When he gets in the car after a delivery he always says, “She/he was really nice.”
Here’s your mission: Appreciate the people in your life, even the crotchety, grumpy, judgmental ones. Seek to understand why they act the way they do (e.g., living with chronic pain or watching all your friends die first can’t be fun), and try to love them anyway.
