When you have nobody to depend on, you are on your own….

It was dark. I eagerly greeted my exhausted husband returning home from work. Instead of joining me for dinner, Dan walked straight to the front door, and peered through the glass door. After a few minutes, he opened the door and darted to the street. I hurried to look through the window, there was a parked car on the street and Dan was engaged in a conversation with the person inside the car. The car moved slowly into our driveway, parked, and out came an old, fragile, silvered haired woman. Dan helped her out of the car and invited her into our house for water and the bathroom. Her name is Edema, 96 years old. This stranger was lost for nearly 3 hours after her hair appointment. I was shocked; why was this 96 year old woman behind the wheel on her own? What was going on with her life? After listening to her story, I understood her predicament, she has nobody to depend on and she is completely on her own. She had a beautiful family, middle class; a few years ago her husband passed away. Her only son passed away when he was in his 30s; the only relative she has left is her daughter-in-law who is in Tampa, approximately 180 miles away from Jacksonville. When the police finally arrived to escort her home, she thanked us and waved goodbye. I helped her to her car and I could see the frightened look and uncertainty in her sad eyes. She was nervous and had trouble getting back into her car. I begged the police, “Forget it, don’t let her drive in the dark!” The young police officer told me that the old woman was doing all right, I was the one who stressed her out. I hopelessly watched her clumsily got back into her car and followed the police car home. After that, we completely lost our appetite; I cannot imagine myself in her position. Fortunately, she can still see and hear very well, she is still on top of everything and knows what is going on in the world. What an amazing person!