Obscurity of Angels

The house was filled with silence; only the rain pattering down on the roof and windows could be heard. All but one member of the family was drained of energy; zoning out or sleeping in their beds.

It wasn't exactly like we were dying, it felt like I imagine a turtle, moving sluggishly around with simply no energy to do anything normal. I had not gone grocery shopping, hadn't done the dishes, the laundry; our bodies only ached for the sweet peace of sleep. For with sleep there was no aches or pains, no coughing, no stuffy noses, and definitely no guilty feelings that I needed to get out of my bed and get those things accomplished, that were awaiting me.

The insistent barking of the dog aroused me from my tossing and turning. Only after a few moments did I then remember that my youngest was arriving back home today. She had been off, enjoying a fantastic weekend with her best friend when she suddenly started to feel sick. They never hung out that often, my emotions clouded with sadness for the shortness of the trip and not wanting to get her friends family ill.

The dog soon hushed, having greeted his mistress, letting her know how happy he was to have her home again. As if nothing had awoken me, I drifted back off into a tumultuous sleep. When the dog startled me awake again, a short while later, it seemed as if I hadn't really slept at all. Determined to find his reason for rudely barking annoyingly again, I shuffled myself out of bed and into the bathroom.

Coincidently, when I was finally dressed and able to venture down the stairs, the house once again felt and sounded like a library. The sleeping peacefully in my chair by the window. Upon hearing my footsteps, the dog simply looked at me with a wag of his tail, happy to someone downstairs to keep him company.

Though only half awake, muttering and puttering around, I could see my kitchen appeared to be a bit cleaner. A bag of junk food goodies lay atop the counter. Smiling at it, I moved it to the side, figuring that the girls had bought snacks for their weekend and Mary had given them to Olivia to bring home with her. Such a sweet girl, not withstanding she could have kept them and used the calories herself. With a sigh I searched for something to drink to take more medication. Grimacing at the thought of taking more pills with only water.

Opening my refrigerator I started and stared in shock at the 12 pack of Diet Coke, beautifully adorning my second shelf. What? My sleep addled brain tried to put two and two together. The girls don't drink Diet Coke, no one in the house does, just me. A tiny presence beside me had me turning to my daughter, as she stood behind me with a smile on her face.

"Mary did it."

"Did what? Bought me Diet Coke?"

Nodding her head I heard, "Mhm, and lots of other things". She began pointing things out in the fridge, then opening and closing cabinets in the kitchen.

I couldn't help the tenderness I felt and my eyes naturally started getting misty from my allergies.

"She was worried that I wouldn't have anything to eat when I got home. That somebody needed to help you, so you wouldn't have to feel like you had do it."

A sweet and beautiful angel of only the age of 18; with a full time job, and her own money to spend. She thought of my whole family, not just my daughter, while willingly spending her hard earned paycheck on us. She has always been my second daughter, the door always open to her since the girls were but five years old. However, I never, ever in my wildest dreams expected something like this.

When life gets you down either by illness of the physical or mental kind, you sometimes fantasize about people doing this king of thing for you. A neighbor offering to buy groceries for you or just pick something simple up. A family member or friend perhaps bringing over a home cooked meal.

I immediately picked up my phone and texted her a heartfelt thank you. Her quick and simple reply, "You've done the same for me, plus more. You're welcome."

Thoughts of quick and simple things throughout the years starting playing through my min. "I'm thinking about you" or "How are you?" texts from when my daughter would say Mary was having a bad day. Hugs, smiles, food, even transportation when needed. I smiled thinking of how well she grew up, how generous and giving of a heart this, not yet an adult, had.

Small and simple for her, large and significant for me. Acts of service, kindness, and love are never gone unnoticed, never left unpaid. We might think we are only doing something insignificant, yet we have no idea how that basic act; brightened a day, changed an outlook, lifted someone to be able to do better and be better to follow your example. Perhaps not today, perhaps not tomorrow, but what is paid out in love will always return to you when you least expect it.