Dr. Marion Somers
I am a gerontologist by profession and have worked with seniors, their families and caregivers my entire working career. I want to take this opportunity to illustrate how we can all make a positive impact no matter where we are, our level of education or background. There are no boundaries to spreading joy, goodness and friendship.
My sister, Patricia known by all as Patty, has been making small handmade angels out of a simple material found in any arts and crafts store or hobby centers. Patty has been retired for many years now. She is keenly aware that there are various physical things happening to her in her aging experience. Patty often says that days go slowly but the years are flying by. She maintains an active social life via the phone and computer. She is aware that her world is changing, yet she remains calm and content in an activity that she has been pursuing for the last few years in upstate New York. My sister spends diligent hours making handcrafted angels out of wooden clothes pins, colorful felt fabric and pipe cleaner halos adorn the top of each clothespin head. She then paints a smiley face on each of her creations. She gives these angels to children and those in the neighborhood including store vendors, hospital workers, and whomever she may meet. We have all lost count as to how many angels have found a home, but we know for sure as we walk around various neighborhoods that the angels are strung from window displays, bank tellers and store clerks keep the angels close at hand, gas station attendants’ say that the angels bring a smile to their face, and customers always positively comment no matter what the environment these angels now reside.
Comments that have been reported are: “this is just what I needed to day”…”I really want to believe that angels do exist and this little one is a reminder of that possibility” …”I went to the local grocery store and saw an angel hanging on the lapel of the store manager and it reminded me to think about the good in my life”…”I recently lost a dear friend, and when I was handed my angel I felt my friend was talking to me and reaching out”…”And a child once said, ”I have never seen an angel before and I love that my angel is so colorful.”
There are now thousands of these angels uplifting many at a time when joy and peace seem to be spread so thinly. Many have often said in their own unique way, “this angel speaks to me that there is good in the world if we only allow it, reach for it and embrace an uplifting thought.
