I was thinking back to last summer when my mom and my mother-in-law passed away within 18 days of each other.
It was a pretty rough time, particularly coming as it all did in the midst of COVID, which prevented traditional viewings and funeral services.
I have a lot of memories from the summer of 2020, but one of the most vivid is the way family and friends jumped into action to help us. This mainly took the form of food, which as I've said before is one of the best things you can provide when someone is dealing with the loss of a loved one.
We received mounds and mounds of food. Some of it came in the form of heaping platters dropped off at the house, while some came from gift cards that were given to us. Either way, it was so greatly appreciated and reflected overwhelming generosity on the part of many people.
Now that we know what it's like to be on the other side of this equation, Terry and I tend to be more thoughtful (and hopefully more generous) than maybe we were before in these situations.
I had the opportunity to help recently when one of my new co-workers, Emily, underwent a thyroid procedure that had a somewhat lengthy recovery period. Emily has a husband and two young boys, and we all knew the last thing she needed post-surgery was to worry about how her family was going to eat every day.
So a meal train was organized in the office, and as far as I know, every single slot for many weeks was quickly filled by volunteers. Given what I had learned from my own experience, I jumped in right away to contribute a Grub Hub card, which (believe me) is going to go over much better than had I attempted to cook them something.
Anyway, the whole experience confirmed my belief that most people are essentially decent. None of us is perfect, and we all fall short of where we ideally should be. But I contend that almost everyone you encounter is trying their best under differing circumstances to be a good person.
And I always find that heartening.
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