Day 12

Yesterday was a different kind of day for us. I usually look for something funny I can write about, and though there were moments yesterday  that could fit the category, I have chosen to push them aside.

My husband and I have been diligent about staying isolated from others.  We have not been in contact with our children nor our grandchildren for almost 2 weeks now.  No other human has crossed the threshold into our home during that time.

Yesterday, we broke the rules and let me tell you why.

We've lived in this home for about 20 years and have had the privilege of having some of the most wonderful, caring neighbors one could ask for.  Sadly, they've gotten older and some have moved to smaller homes and some have passed away.

One very special gentleman is now a widower and has moved to an independent living facility.  He is amazing at 94 years of age.  He lives alone, drives, volunteers at the VA.  He is a real hero of American wars, fought at the Battle of the Bulge and traveled to other countries to receive well-deserved awards.  He has made it a practice to visit us  about every 4-6 weeks since his wife died and he moved away.   He brings us some ice cream, comes inside to visit and we have the pleasure of his company for about an hour and then he gets in his car and drives home.

I don't know who enjoys these visits more....us or him.  We learn more about parts of the world we know little about, his fantastic life experiences, the people he's met, foods we've never tasted and books we've never read.  He gets a chance to get out of his apartment, visit his old neighborhood and go back in time to a place where he was still married to his lovely bride.

You guessed it. Yesterday, I was passing through the foyer, looked through the glass in the front door and saw his car pull up in the driveway.  He got out and  started up the driveway carrying a carton of ice cream and my husband saw him, too.  In an instant we had to make a choice....pretend we were not home; speak to him through the door and tell him we could not let him in; or open the door and invite him in .  We looked at each other, nodded and opened the door before he could even ring the bell.  There was our old friend, wearing latex gloves and a great big smile and appearing to be so grateful for the opportunity for human contact and conversation.

We went into the living room and the 3 of us sat in different corners of the room about 10 feet away from each other.   Since the 2 men don't hear that well, I became the pivot point interpreter but it worked.  I can't tell you how many times we heard him say how grateful he was not to have been turned away and how many times we thought to ourselves we were so happy that we hadn't done that.  And then, the visit was over.

 Did we do the right thing?  Did we take a chance?  We did take a chance and we hope we don't regret it.  But if we had to do it over again, we would.   My heart tells me we did the right thing.

God willing, we'll meet again......same place, same time, same people.  We look forward to it.