-Kilee Johnson

Groceries in the Car

The sun was shining outside and its yellow hue was making it look as if the day was made of gold.  And, a cool breeze was brushing past my face and caressing my entire body.  It was a day freshly minted.  The kind of day when everyone who is able to go outside feels rich and able bodied.  So, I went out to work in my yard.

When I next looked up and had everything put away it was early in the evening.  I went into the house and looked at my whiskers appear to be growing from the fertile soil covering my entire head.  It was time to wash the day away and spend some time with my family.

We had a nice dinner and then returned home.  I was tired and felt sleepy.  My muscles were begging for the relief, a respite from physical labor and I yielded; but not for long.

In about a half hour the dogs were announcing the arrival of guests.  They were excited to see familiar faces and they demonstrated their pleasure by flying their tails at full speed.

"Hi Papi.  We have our groceries in the car, but we can help you for a few minutes."

We had been working to get some beds moved to different rooms and another one put together.  It was heavy work and I needed help to get it done.  I was grateful to receive the offered assistance.  Otherwise the task would never be completed.

"You don't need to help me tonight!" I said.  "You have groceries to put away."

"Yes.  But we can put them away later and the only thing we'll be doing is just putting them away.  If we help you, the beds will be put away and we'll be spending more time with you."

Because we worked together, everything was completed quickly and with pleasure.  It reminded me that a community or a family has a power which a single individual does not.  We are held together as a result of freely contributing mutual support and protecting the core values that bind us. I live in the same zip code that Kilee lives in, but that is not what gives us glue.

Rabbi Daniel Lapin said, "The only thing I know that will glue a community or family together is for everyone to first, concentrate on doing something for other people, and only thereafter to worry about what they can do for you.  . . . The world is set up to reward us to the extent that we focus on finding ways to do things for other people.  If we focus on what others can do for us, we fail."

What can you I do that will really make other people happy today?