An Unexpected Meeting

As previously mentioned on Sunday I met an amazing woman. I had had her Avon order for a few weeks, but every time I tried to deliver it, there was no answer. I recalled from when I had taken the order, that she was an elderly lady, as her son had handed me the book to save her from bending. I just kept trying on every round to see if she answered. So on Sunday with five orders to deliver off I went.

I rang the bell, and as always gave plenty of time for her to get to the door. Sure enough she appeared. Bless her she was using a walking frame. The type with the basket on the front to hold important things. It took me a while to advise her of why I was there, she struggled to open the front porch door and invited me in.

I could see how fragile she was, and she told me she would sit on the stairs to pay me, then I could go, then she would make her way back to the living room. No way was I going to let this lady struggle back to her chair on her own. If I had left then I would have bee forever worried that she may have fallen. She had already told me that her unsteadiness on her feet was due to a fall.

Now, I didn't want her to worry that I was going to mug her or anything, I just politely offered to see her back to her chair so I knew she was safe, I told her that I would only worry if I left her where she was.

Obviously used to being independant she moved me into the living room, minus my shoes, and told me sit and wait for her on the sofa. She managed to sit herself down, and I could see that just the stress of walking to the door and back had taken it's toll. She told me she had lost her 21 year old grandson, had a fall, and was now petrified to walk in case she fell again. I did my best to assure her that soon she would regain her confidence.

She took her avon item and was really pleased with it, paid for it.....and then we sat and talked.

I offered to make her a drink, but she said if anyone was going to make one it was her!

She told me she was Italian, she had met and fallen in love with an english royal air force man at the age of 16, that her father had forbidden her from seing him until she was 18. The man returned for her on her 18th birthday, married her and brought her to england. Three months later she was pregnant and desperately teaching herself english by reading romance novels. Her husband wouldn't let her work. She explained that she had the looks of a film star at that age, and her husband was worried she may get snatched away by a more handsome man. Right up until he died six years ago she never managed to convince him that she could love no other man but him.

SHe told me how she made her own clothes, curtains, towels and tea towels to make neds meet. How she did Avon for twelve years, telling her husband she was only doing the road she lived on so her didn't stop her from doing it, when in fact she was covering the whole of our area! How she met so many people, and was ripped off by someone who ordered a lot of things worth a lot of money in those days. She went back a week later to collect the money and they had moved to another country!

She told me how her husband had died, then told me how her grandson had died at the age of 21.....I cried with her as she told me her memories.

I told her where I lived, and we swapped the names of neighbours we both knew. She said I looked familiar and asked if I used to have short hair. It turns out she had seen me no end of times in the Doctors surgery!

As I left, I told her to keep my number, if there was anything, absolutely anything I could do for her, she was just to pick up the phone. Whether it be that she needed a prescription collecting, some shopping, or just someone to have a talk to, she was to ring me.

She suddenly started to cry again. I sat back down and asked her what was wrong. SHe told me she was lonely, her son only visited her once a week. Although he rang every morning and every night, all she had were carers that came out to her twice a day. Supposedly for half an hour, they would not talk to her, and leave after fifteen minutes.

Then she told me she was desperate for a chiropodist to come and cut her toe nails as her feet hurt so much. I said I would source some numbers for her and call her back.

Yesterday, before I went to work I got the numbers of two chiropodists, state reigstered who did home visits. I called her and left a message with their numbers.

The lady that I met purely by chance is truly amazing. I only hope that when I next go to visit her I can brighten her day a little bit more than I did last time.

I guess the moral of this story is, if you have any elderly neighbours, spare them a thought, spare them a minute of your precious time. It might just make them feel a little bit more loved. A minute to us in our hectic lifestyles might be precious. But a minute to someone who is alone virtually all day, can seem like a weeks worth of visits.

Take time to think about it, that's all I ask.

Hugs for all, especially my Avon lady from Sunday.

Whisky

xxx