Compulsive Giving
People just can’t help themselves. I understand. They feel something when they’re around her and they want to be part of it.
All of Ramona’s wheelchair-bound life people have been giving her stuff. When she was little it happened all the time. Mostly at Costco, sometimes at Target.
Once, at Christmas time, we were at the grocery store and a young couple came up to us and asked if it would be alright to give our little girl a gift. Sure. They gave her an 18k gold bracelet with a cross on it and told her that Jesus loves her. (yeah, she knows!)
Another time we were at Target and a woman came up and handed me a necklace with an angel on it and said, ” Angels are watching over her.” Yep.
Sometimes it’s stuffed animals or toys. One of my favorites took place at a bar. (That sounds wrong. Let me try again.) It took place as we waited near the bar to be seated at a restaurant. A man was walking by, carrying his drink to the bar. He stopped in front of us and said, “Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be right back.” Huh? How weird can a person be? Well, I was with my brother and dad and wasn’t worried for our safety, and definitely curious, so I stayed. A few minutes later he came back with a plastic Chevron bag and handed it to me. Inside was a pink Chevron car toy. He said it was for my little girl. When I asked, “Why?” he thought for a moment then said, “I was touched,” and went back to the bar.
That was strange, but the strangest things of all happen at Costco. Something about that place brings out inappropriate courage in people. Once while we were there a woman yelled across the crowd, “You are a wonderful mother!!” I waved and said thank you, then whispered to my sister, ” How does she know I didn’t PUT her IN this chair?”
Another time while we were there, a regular looking woman came up and asked if she could pray for my daughter. I said yes, because in my world “pray” is something you do at home or in your heart. Not so much for this gal. She laid her hands on Ramona’s head and started speaking in tongues. Loudly. Wow. That was somethin’!
The “compulsive giving” moments have slowed down as Ramona has gotten older. I think it’s more intimidating for people to approach us now. But they haven’t stopped. Just last week, the kids and I were at Costco (of course we were) and a man asked if he could help me load my groceries into the van. Thanks. He loaded the groceries as I loaded the kids. Then he handed me a $100 bill and told me Merry Christmas. My first thought was, “Wow, that’s really generous.” My second thought was, “I probably should have brushed my hair before leaving the house.”
But seriously, I get it. She’s a unique presence in this world. She makes people think…about how adaptable people really are or how much harder their own lives could be. Maybe about how life goes on in adversity. Because it does. And right now it’s going on pretty well…I hope it is for you too.
