Thanks for helping
Went on a kinda roadtrip this past weekend. Was the first time I’d been out of New York City since this entire thing went down with Alison.
We needed a washer/dryer, you see. The laundrymat around the way just closed and having a kid and a sick wife means laundry. Lots of laundry.
A woman was selling her ten-month old set out in NJ but I’d no means of getting to her. So I asked on FB if there was anyone I could hire to move it for me.
A friend-of-a-friend named Phil immediately said he’d pick me and bring me over. A few hours later, was in the car with a relative stranger on the way to another stranger’s house in New Jersey to either pick up a washer/dryer or get stabbed. It was the former, luckily.
Phil helped me haul this monstrosity out of this lady’s house. As we struggled in the rain to get it into Phil’s car, the lady started to cry. She was moving cause she had to, not cause she wanted to and couldn’t take this thing with her.
I told her not to cry, that she’d be ok. She smiled and told me I would be as well. Let’s hope we don’t make liars of each other.
After a slow drive back into the city, Phil and a neighbor helped me haul this thing into my home. Tried stuffing $100 into Phil’s glove compartment but he wouldn’t take it and just took off with a smile and a wave.
Spent the rest of the day moving it into place with the help of some other neighbors and hooking the whole thing up. Was late when it was all over.
Fred Rogers used to tell children that, when they were frightened, to “Look for the helpers.”
Alison’s cancer has been many things, all of which were anxiety producing.
And anxiety is just a fancy word for fear.
But the helpers have made it better – friends, strangers, and family.
You know, this girl named Annabel shows up at my doorstep every Wednesday with some insanely good homemade food she cooks. And a fella named Anthony brings food from his restaurant every Thursday. And then there’s a girl named Kristin comes over a couple of times a week to do PT with Alison. They were strangers to us.
Plus we have friends like Rain, who just built me something to make the washer work better and Alison’s best friend Lacey, who sends someone to watch the kid almost every day.
It’s all been frightening. But the helpers make it less so.
Her: Who was that?
Me: Someone who wanted to help us.
Her: That’s really nice of him.
Me: It is. It really is. Get some rest.
Location: last weekend, the West Side Highway going 10 mph
Mood: slightly less anxious
Music: I fight. Now I’m away
Like this post? Tell someone about it by clicking a button below.
9 replies on “Look for the helpers”
I’m so glad you and Rain are friends again. I think it happened a while back but yeah. So glad. Rooting for you guys!!!
Ha, I don’t know if we so much as stopped being friends as life got in the way of things. Life always gets in the way.
Sent this to my family. We are so proud of Annabel. Thank you for being such gracious recipients of the dinners she brings. We continue to send you our prayers and love from New York City, LA and Hong Kong. Our kitchen is always open to you and your family. — Abby (and the Tsengs)
You should be proud of Annabel – she’s been incredibly kind to us and it’s more than we deserve. I’ve told her many times that I hope she doesn’t get burnt out with all the things she does for us, her church, her boyfriend and family, and her job.
She’s just great and we are touched that she does so much for us. I hope I can return the favor somehow.
Hey Logan,
I’ve been following your posts pretty closely for the past few months and am so sorry to hear what you and Alison have been going through.
Meant to write sooner and to ask if you needed help, but wasn’t sure if I’d be overstepping any boundaries.
But yes, please let me know. (I work at a bookstore, so if you’d like, I’d be more than happy to mail out/deliver some books!)
You, Alison and Nathan are all in my thoughts.
[…] girl Annabel from my last entry wrote me to tell me that she hosted a fundraiser at her home to help Alison and sent us a – […]
[…] Finally a quick thanks to Elizabeth Harney and Jonathan Chan who can’t roll but have already agreed to sponsor others, and Philip Chen, whom I told you about previously. […]
[…] few months ago, told you about a woman named Annabel that cooked for us every Wednesday for over a year. Well, she just got married this past […]
[…] you remember when I told you about the lovely nurse Annabel that cooked for Alison and us every Wednesday when we were trying to save […]