When you help someone up a hill, you are that much nearer the top yourself. - Unknown
In 2004, I was deployed to Kuwait with about 8 other people from my unit. One of those people happened to be one of my great friends, Bobby. Bobby was married to Morgan, another one of my great friends. I remember in the beginning of the deployment that there were days of Bobby worrying over whether or not Morgan was being taken care of while he was so far away, and I didn't really understand his concern, just thought he was being obsessive over nothing.
Before he left, he had asked several of our friends to help her out with certain tasks that he knew she wouldn't be able to do on her own, and he thought he was leaving her with a pretty outstanding support system. About 2 weeks into our deployment, he learned differently. Turns out, none of these so called friends were willing to help her with anything and blew off any task that he had called and asked them to do. He would have to call and call to get them to go over and help her with anything that needed done.
I mentioned to Bobby that Jason would be more than willing to help Morgan if he asked him to. So Bobby made one phone call and that's all it took. Every week, without fail, Jason went over to Morgan's house and mowed her lawn and helped her with anything else that she needed help with.
Sadly for me, that awesome guy who is so eager to help is the one that had to leave me alone for a year. Now that I am in the position of "Morgan", I have a better understanding of why Bobby was so obsessive over having good people around to help her. I have been struggling with relying on my family because I hate putting the burden on so few people. They do so much for me already, that when extra tasks come up I want to find someone else to help me so that they aren't always the ones to help. I'm learning very quickly who I can rely on for that help and, unfortunately, who I can't.
Everyday I am more and more grateful for the wonderful people in my life and have a deeper appreciation for everything that they do, even if it's simply asking me how I'm holding up. I miss Jason.
3 comments:
If I was a little closer, I would be right on your front porch ready to help. But here is a little prayer sent your way. You are a strong person! You are in my thoughts.
My husband's never been deployed, but with working full-time, going to school full-time, and working on his thesis we didn't see him much this last year, and I didn't have a car. I really appreciated people calling and offering to pick things up for me at the store or offering to watch the girls for doctor's appointments etc. I live a few states away, but if you ever need anything involving manual labor/welding I'll send my dad over--he's very non-creepy and he'll do anything for his daughter's friend :)
You already know how I feel about Jason. He is the guy who would give someone the shirt off his back in the middle of a blizzard if they needed it. I understand you don't want to rely on us (your family) anymore than you already do, but honestly we are here to be relied on. I'm glad you finally decided to reach out and ask Joel for help because he loves to help...he and Jason are cut from the same cloth, you know. We all love you and the girls very much, and we are glad you help in any way we can :)
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