Just DO IT

I've said this before, but I can't find where I posted it in the main family blog, so here goes again....

When a family is having difficulties -- in our case when Blondie (or T-Rex) were in the hospital-- it was very difficult to take people up on their offer of help. We frequently got calls that ended with, "Let me know if you need something..." But I didn't know how to delegate that help. When T-Rex was sick it only lasted a week, and great friends helped a lot. When Blondie got sick it was for MONTHS.... some families go through it for a year or more.

So, if a family you know, or have vaguely heard of that maybe lives on your block, is having an issue - regardless of what it is.... offer to help. Not the vague "let me know if you need something." But just step up and do something.

1.) YARD WORK - Our neighbor across the street is a VP in a very big company, and he mowed our grass.... a few weeks later 3 families came over and raked up all the leaves in the yard (no small feat I promise). So just roll out that mower and get busy.

2.) DINNER - I know churches are good for this, but the ladies in my neighborhood, as well as the teachers I worked with, made our dinner for over a month. One friend coordinated the menu so we didn't have lasagna every night, and then families would drive it over, it would feed my family for dinner that night - and then it was brought to me for leftovers the next day - EASY ON THE PASTA PLEASE - I know it's easy, but I gained 35 pounds when Blondie was sick, and I'm still carrying it.

3.) VISIT - Lots of people say that they don't like hospitals, but TOUGH TOOTIES. They are the ones stuck in the hospital 24/7 and trust me they aren't sleeping. Anything you can do to break up the day is welcome. I was able to take a shower when someone came (no way I was leaving Blondie in a hospital room without a lock on the door without supervision in case of a seizures. Bring Videos, books, coloring stuff, playdoh etc. Leave the bears and balloons at home - when we left the hospital we had over 40 new stuffed things to contend with. Blondie loved getting the little people sets like playmobil to play with, while only 1 stuffed animal actually made it to the favorite list.

4.) TAKE OUT THE SIBLINGS - My aunt commented recently that she was surprised I kept trying to organize the other girls when Blondie was in the hospital, but honestly I wanted the schedule to be as normal as possible. I was gone for weeks, but they still needed to get to sports, and scouts, and horses, etc. My favorite nights were when friends took the older two (Cheesie was only 18 months) to spend the night.

5.) GIFT CARDS - are so helpful and I used them when I ran out of shampoo, or needed a salad, or laundry detergent for the washer. AND ROLLED QUARTERS were my favorite for the washing machine (and the snack machine - although I had enough pasta so I didn't use it much).

6.) A NIGHT OUT - The Halls' (Jessie is in the picture above with Blondie) had friends give them a special night out (I think it was their anniversary) in the hospital cafeteria, but they got to be alone for a bit while a whole crew played with Jessie upstairs.

7.) LOAN OF A COMPUTER/DVD PLAYER ETC - We had one computer for a hospital floor of 50 some rooms - I didn't own a laptop, but I would have loved to update families while I was there - also, the portable DVD player we brought for Blondie was great - she could watch her little kid movies ENDLESSLY while I watched the news . She also loved the CD player for her favorite music - Hot potato Hot potato.....

There are so many things that are small and easy to help anyone in crisis, but instead of waiting to be asked, just do it.