This is a story about how kindness has impacted my life, not kindness that I've done. But it's a story I wanted to share.
Over the past 5 years, my family has had some significant challenges. Some have been incredibly joyful - we've welcomed two babies to our family! Both were born via c-section, which makes for a much more difficult recovery for me as the birthing parent. Some have been really hard - I was diagnosed with cancer in 2023 with a 10-month-old baby at home and underwent 5 months of treatment. I also had to have my gallbladder removed after baby #2 was born when he was only 6 weeks old. And some have been really sad - our family has experienced three miscarriages, two of which have required a surgical procedure to resolve. In the midst of this, our family and friends just kept showing up to take care of us with meals. Different friends offered to organize a meal train after both babies and during cancer treatment, and put in the effort to organize and email the link to our community to make sure we were fed. After our miscarriages, the effort wasn't quite as formal, but family and friends showed up time and again at our front door with meals anyway. After experiencing a medical event, whether happy or hard, one of the greatest gifts you can give someone is to take not only some of the physical tasks off their plate, but also to take some of their mental load. When our family and friends brought us meals, it meant I didn't have to decide what we wanted to eat, what groceries we needed, take out vs. cooking, etc. To have so much need over the past 5 years was hard for me, as a person who has a hard time asking for help. But our community didn't ask permission. They asked clarifying questions, like, "Do you have any allergies or preferences? What time is best to deliver a meal?" Then, they just showed up with the meal. That kindness is something I will carry with me forever. It's something I try to pay forward as much as I can now.
Over the past 5 years, my family has had some significant challenges. Some have been incredibly joyful - we've welcomed two babies to our family! Both were born via c-section, which makes for a much more difficult recovery for me as the birthing parent. Some have been really hard - I was diagnosed with cancer in 2023 with a 10-month-old baby at home and underwent 5 months of treatment. I also had to have my gallbladder removed after baby #2 was born when he was only 6 weeks old. And some have been really sad - our family has experienced three miscarriages, two of which have required a surgical procedure to resolve. In the midst of this, our family and friends just kept showing up to take care of us with meals. Different friends offered to organize a meal train after both babies and during cancer treatment, and put in the effort to organize and email the link to our community to make sure we were fed. After our miscarriages, the effort wasn't quite as formal, but family and friends showed up time and again at our front door with meals anyway. After experiencing a medical event, whether happy or hard, one of the greatest gifts you can give someone is to take not only some of the physical tasks off their plate, but also to take some of their mental load. When our family and friends brought us meals, it meant I didn't have to decide what we wanted to eat, what groceries we needed, take out vs. cooking, etc. To have so much need over the past 5 years was hard for me, as a person who has a hard time asking for help. But our community didn't ask permission. They asked clarifying questions, like, "Do you have any allergies or preferences? What time is best to deliver a meal?" Then, they just showed up with the meal. That kindness is something I will carry with me forever. It's something I try to pay forward as much as I can now.
