Our neighbor who just lost her son is trying to process and sort a lifetime of belongings, and feeling very alone and confused. We seem to have come along at just the right time to be like, as she puts it, her guardian angels. She doesn’t have much family left, so we’re listening, empathizing, helping her around the place, and just being there to help her go through stuff, both emotional and physical.
I’m cleaning up and maintaining her garden, including her son’s memorial garden as I call it, to which I added bird-friendly features. He was a nature-lover. E is offering her services cleaning up and painting the garage exterior and house interior, which the neighbor is funding.
When our friend gets overwhelmed with memories and guilt, we help her slow down and feel better. There were some sad issues in her son’s life, and though she did everything a mother could do to provide a supportive place for him, she still blames herself for not doing more. E can totally relate, and can also provide practical skills, so it’s a mutually beneficial situation. I get to garden more, and I’ll be helping paint the interior.
E is going through her own grieving process, so it gives her someone to take her mind off her own struggles. Our friend is glad to have some company and guidance through this frightening time. It’s another instance of synchronicity happening in our lives.