When I was a little girl, we had an old couple who lived next door to us. Their names were Cliff and Zetha. In that neighborhood, there weren't a lot of kids my age, so I spent my days running next door to get spoiled by Zetha, and my little brother played with Cliff and always got to ride on his driveable lawnmower. They were like our best friends. But after a few years, my parents wanted a bigger and nicer house, so we moved to West Jordan, away from Cliff and Zetha. Cliff passed away not too long after we moved, and my mom tried to get out to visit Zetha at least once a week to help her clean, or shop, or just to take her to lunch. Last year, her family put her in a care center. But she's lonely and a bit grumpy because she's alone so much and she hates that her independance has been taken away.
Last week, my mom and I decided to take a trip down to Payson to visit her so she could see my little girls and so we could take her a little pumpkin decoration to cheer her up. Kenzi was so sweet and gentle with her, it was just adorable. Ashlin was tired and really grouchy, so she wasn't the nicest company, but at least Zetha got to see her for the first time!
This was a reminder to me that we need to keep the elderly in our thoughts and prayers at all times. Even those who are not our relatives, we need to visit them and take care of them. It's so sad to me that people put their parents or grandparents in homes or care centers and then just leave them there. They cared for us our whole lives....isn't it time we return the favor? This Thanksgiving season, take the time to visit an elderly relative. If you don't have one, schedule a time for your family to go visit any one of these homes, and see if you can brighten a few people's day!
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