A local retailer, Tammy at Rebel Mary’s Boutique, shared that she’d had a recent visitor to her shop who wasn’t the typical customer. He stayed a while and chatted, then as he was leaving thanked her for taking the time to visit. Her post was a reminder to take the time to visit, just to chat about whatever. It doesn’t need a specific purpose, especially with our senior citizens.
Her post reminded me of something I tried to explain to my brother many moons ago, during our mother’s last months: think of life like a pie.
Your life is the whole pie. Each slice represents something in your life: family, friends, church, work, pets, volunteer efforts, hobbies and so on. When y’all slice your pie into pieces, the pieces may look small, but all are important to us.
As many know, sometimes those slices are many, and sloppy, and make quite a mess! Often the filling squishes out over the sides of the pan and onto the other slices. The slices can appear to be falling apart because there are so many. And never mind trying to scoop one out of the pan neatly in its own little piece; it’s undoubtedly going to affect whatever is on either side of it.
But such is the fullness of life, with its joys and its challenges. We endure the mess for the moments of happiness it brings. Right?
Now think of y’all’s own life and how many slices y’all have. Y’all wouldn’t give them up no matter the mess. But if one little sliver slips away, it’s a bummer, and we adapt as the space is quickly filled by those other slices and their mess. I think we all agree that the fullness, even the messy, makes life worth livin’!
Now think about others, especially our seniors and those with disabilities. Their pie is the same size as y’all’s, but their slices are often larger. Family, friends, church, or maybe just family and friends: the list of what means the most to them commonly becomes shorter and more concentrated. So when something is missin’, it makes a bigger impact, because the empty part of their pie is a bigger piece of their life, and their heart.
Just food for thought. Pun intended. Next time you’re out and about in the 903, take a few extra minutes to visit.