Mr S

 A Loving Warning: Involves the death of a neighbour/community member and Stroke

This story is in dedication to Mr. S. He worked in construction, had a sing-song voice and was the kindest person I’ve ever met. He was the jewel of our street!

Husqvarna ST327

The Winter of 2018 is a time that changed my life as well as the lives of the close-knit community on our shared street. This was a day when a neighbour of fifteen years unexpectedly died.

It was mid-February in Ontario Canada, and we had a rather large dumping of snow with frigid thirty-below weather (welcome to Canada). Our neighbour was the first one up and out and onto the street which was to be expected. He had acquired a gently used snow blower the year prior and we swear he waited with bated breath for any snowfall so that he would have the opportunity to use it. He started early and with his own driveway. As was his usual practice, he moved slowly door to door making his way down the street. He was in his early 70’s and every year we pleaded with him to allow us to share in some of the tasks at hand. Every year he refused with a smile and a wave of his hand.

On this particular day, he was about a quarter of the way through his gleeful snow removal, when he fell, and then slumped onto a neighbour’s driveway. Several of us rushed to his side and called 911. He was taken to our local hospital, and we later discovered that he had had a stroke. He did not survive. None of us had seen this coming. He was the sweetest soul, always the first to help a neighbour with their groceries, to transplant a tree, or to help build a fence. As a neighbourhood we rallied around his wife and two small sons. As a community we cared for our own, checking in with them to see what they needed. It started by bringing them food, shovelling their drive, running errands for them, and ended up in staying for tea. Every Winter after that year, she and the boys invite the neighbourhood over for hot cider in honour of her husband. It represents the family’s gratitude for the strong friendships that helped to support them. What she didn’t realize was that helping her, helped to heal us too.

My advice is that caregiving doesn’t always look the way you think it might or involve your direct family. Sometimes the act of dropping off a meal to a friend or neighbour, or simply leaving a note so that they know they have support, speaks volumes. Do not underestimate the impact of a small, loving gesture.

XOXO