My nephew Jon Beall and his son, Bryant, came to visit me on Saturday and right away asked, "What can I do for you while I'm here."
I quickly gave them a list: Take the rocking chairs on the deck to the garage. Take the Gazelle to the garage. Take this and take that. Now my deck is not cluttered and I can see my deck garden from my chair.
I made some lunch and then Jon wanted to know what else he could do for me. He has always been the most caring and kind person. He reminds me of Barry with his easy going nature and he never seems to get angry. His six-foot-three son, at seventeen, said very little but seemed willing to help. He removed the little twigs and leaves hanging on my gutter over my front door.
Before they put their boat in Lake Chatuge Saturday afternoon, they had cleaned out and organized my garage and taken two loads to the garbage transfer station. Now I can see what is in there and decide what I need to keep and what can go. Jon told me to sit and he brought boxes over for me to go through. What a huge relief!
Jon and his sister, Paige, spent lots of time with Barry and me when they were little. We loved having them. I was Paige's first baby sitter when she was a tiny little thing. Often at Easter, they and their mother spent the day with my family on the farm. They hunted eggs with the kids on the front lawn.
Jon calls me fairly often and we keep in touch. He is married to a fine person and has a daughter, also. I am sharing one of the last photos made with Barry in 2008. Jon was almost named for Barry. His mother wanted to name him Jon Barry, but I objected. I wanted to name my first son after Barry. How silly and young I was then.
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| Barry, sitting, Jon behind him with arm around Bryant. |
I am touched deep in my heart by the kindness of Jon and Bryant. I just wish I could have made the fish bite for them.
How absolutely lovely. And the photo is special too.
ReplyDeleteThey sound like wonderful and caring people indeed. So nice to have those chores done and with such fine company, too. Thanks for sharing them with me. :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you had an enjoyable time with your family. Isn't it nice to have relatives close by who are willing to help when you need it?
ReplyDeleteThank you all, my friends, for your comments. I love that picture of Jon's family with Barry.
ReplyDeleteAbbie, Jon doesn't live close by, I'm afraid. He lives in Macon GA about five hour drive from me. That makes it even more precious to me.
I hope they know how grateful I am, Roughwriting. I told them and tried to show them how much I appreciated them.
Watching them work reminded me of how much my physical strength has failed over the past few years. That is what is hard for me - having to ask others to do what I did just a few years ago.