The Gift Of A Friend

by Latter-day Soprano

Shootings. Wildfires. Political Chaos. Death. Anger. Fear. Panic. Hate. Grief. Despair.

I don’t know about you, but I need to hear something positive today. I need to know there’s still goodness in this world. In short I need a story that gives me hope.

Please feel free to share one. Here is mine:

I’ve been fighting Bronchitis and other yuk virus stuff the past two weeks. Coughing, sneezing, sore throat, etc. Rosario, the custodian assigned to our office, has noticed me struggling. Last Friday she arrived to her shift carrying a sack filled with a large ginger root, multiple packets of fresh herbs and spices [eucalyptus, cinnamon, chamomile, licorice, thyme…], a packet of honey, and a jar of Vicks Vapor Rub. She presented all of this into my hands, with a wide smile; “for you!”

In her gentle voice – with limited English, and creative mime – Rosario explained how to apply the vapor rub to my neck and between my shoulder blades, and how to chew tiny bits of ginger to help my sore throat and heal my cold, and how to make a tea using the other items to calm my cough. (I did all of the above, and it helped)

photography of blue ceramic coffee cup
Photo by Lisa Fotios on Pexels.com

Rosario is an immigrant from Ecuador. Every day she arrives with a smile and an “Hola!”. I always attempt to communicate in my best broken Spanish. Her eyes smile, she nods and gently corrects my pronunciation. She tutored me before I left for my pilgrimage in Spain with 5 new words per day [“Cinco palabras nuevas”]. I looked forward to 3:00 PM for her arrival, and watching her delight to quiz me [La prueba!], before giving me my cinco palabras.

When I returned, I shared my photos [“Oohh! aahh!”] and she shared a new photo of her grand-baby [“Oohh! aahh!”].

Rosario is bent with age. She performs long manual labor shifts. She works to help support her family, a daughter and grandchildren who live with her. I know that her salary is meager, and her budget is tight. And yet, she didn’t hesitate to go to a market last week and buy all of these [pricey] healing items for me!

I tried to press money into her hand, but she held it back and looked deep into my eyes slowly shaking her head;

“Mi amiga, Por favor. It is the gift of a friend.”

The herbs & ginger were very soothing, but her greatest gift of all was friendship.

♥

Everyone is suffering over something right now – seen or unseen.

Let’s decide to be someone’s Rosario today.

Share the Gift of a Friend.

Love, Holly

4 Comments

  2. The best thing that happened to me this past week is, I got David Archuleta’s new Christmas CD in the mail. No one does Christmas better than David. I made up my mind, when he was on American Idol, that no matter what, I would support this fine young man and his career. When he decided to do a Mission, I wasn’t really surprised. I wouldn’t have expected anything less from him. I waited patiently for his return and return to music. I haven’t been disappointed. Although I’ve never met him, nor do I ever expect to, I try to be the best fan I can be. I don’t know if that counts as being a friend, but it’s the best I can do for him.

    Now that I’m retired and don’t get out much, I’ve found that my Mission is to pray for people, which I do everyday. Even people I see walking down the street outside my building. Or when I hear sirens, I pray for the people involved. There are lots of ways we can make a difference, if we just look for them. Though I’ve never met you, Holly, I consider you a very dear friend. You’ve prayed for me and my family many times, and I can’t even tell you how much that means to me.

    Thank you for being my friend. I love you, Lynne

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