| The Dinner Fairies |
| Left to right: Jeannie, Marnita, Sam, Teresa, Candice, Kisha in front- Julie Missing: Elaine |
| Not only have the dinner fairies been an enormous help to us...they illustrate how much a lot of love and a little effort can affect a family's life. The two women on the left (that look amazingly alike...) are mother and daughter, Marnita and Jeannie. Marnita and Jeannie are so much more than friends to our family...they are family in our hearts. Jeannie is a lawyer with Franklin county probate court, and Marnita is a deputy clerk with Franklin county. The other dinner fairies are coworkers of Jeannie and Marnita. As you may have read in other sections, all of our girls were in Jeannie's September 18th, 2004 wedding. When Avalon was diagnosed with leukemia 3 weeks later, it really hit home for the people who had attended the wedding. Suddenly pediatric cancer had a face and a family to put the horror with. These people took our sorrow to heart from day one. From the beginning, they kept asking Jeannie and Marnita what they could do. After months of reading emails and sending love, they landed on an idea. They bring us dinner once a week. At first I fought the idea, I didn't want to bother anyone. Besides, I thought it sounded like a lot of trouble for them - for such a small thing in our world. Wow! I've never been so wrong! Our dinner fairies have been priceless to us. We arranged for dinner to be brought on Thursday nights, chemo day. After a full day of clinic, school work, running Ambrosia to speech therapy and Aurora to dance...knowing that I don't have to think about what to feed everyone is amazing! The fairies always bring huge portions, and end up feeding us for at least two nights, and maybe a lunch or two. Its more helpful than I could have ever imagined. Each week they trade off who prepares dinner. Jeannie and Marnita have to drive right by the house to go home, so they are the official delivery team. The bonus is we get a few minutes each week to hug on people we love...a benefit that makes the whole experience even richer. The fairies assure us that its so simple for them, they almost don't feel like they're doing enough. With 8 fairies, each of them only has to cook for us once every two months. The dinners are always easy for us to finish...casseroles, pot pies, lasagna. They are often even so thoughtful as to include fun extras like bread, salad, or desserts. Its like getting a weekly care package from your mother... My point here is two-fold. Of course I want to publicly thank these people. They have removed one of the burdens from our over-tired shoulders, and I appreciate them immensely. Second, I want to use them as an example of the good you can do in the world. These are not wealthy socialites with time and money in abundance. These are normal, hard-working people - who have reached outside of their lives and improved the lives of their fellow man. Charity and generosity don't have to carry a huge price tag. Often a gesture can mean more than money ever could. In this case, the money for groceries would not give me the time or energy to shop and prepare a proper meal... The time they give to provide the meal...is worth 100 times the price tag for it. You don't have to give the moon to help ease someone's burden. You simply need to think of their needs, and see if you can shoulder part of their load,,,even if only for a few hours. I promise that the end result will out weigh the effort you give. Kindness and love have a mysterious way of multiplying...... |
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Our Angels:
Avalon's Army of Angels