What does it look like to have support from someone or something? This past month at Kalmbach has brought many viable scenes of love and support proving that nature has a unique way to heal the soul.
One day while quietly working on the grounds, I noticed that if you really take the time to observe others, there is so much one can learn about human kindness. The following examples were all observed at Kalmbach…

Grandparents are special. They have so much to share about the wisdom of life and experience. Like many, their minds are still very sharp but their bodies have slowed down. I heard voices in the distances and looked up to observe an elderly grandmother slowly crossing the bridge while her young grandson not more than 8 or 9 with his arm around her small waist helping support her with every step. As I observed closer I could tell that the support the young boy was giving was not just physical, but there was such strong, emotional, and physical respect between the grandson and the grandmother. He was showing her that he was there for her physically to help her across the bridge and to continue with each step. She was there for her grandson to acknowledge that his kindness gave them the ability to both be stronger…

Fifty years of being married and together is quite an accomplishment today. I was in deep with weeding a small section in the gardens when a man approached Mike and me to ask for a special favor. He and his wife were celebrating 50 years of marriage together. They had originally planned to take a cruise together, but the pandemic canceled these plans. A perfect plan “B” would be to have an intimate dinner with a musician in the small gazebo. I could see that this celebration was not only to record a monumental date but to let his wife of fifty years know how special she was to him and how the two of them have worked together to create a lifetime of memories…

There is nothing more rewarding than seeing a young child learning to walk for the first time. Kalmbach has a bridge that passes over the stream. What a rewarding sight to see this young boy slowing walking to his mother at one end and turning around and walking back to his father at the other end of the bridge. This game went on for many trips back and forth until the young child’s legs got tired and needed rest. Who would have thought that this bridge would be the connection between two parents and their child taking his first steps?
Daily these scenes of love and support are sprouting up around the park. As you walk the paths in Kalmbach, take a moment not only to observe nature and the sounds but to see the joy happening around you.

Bill Withers says it best, “We all need somebody to lean on..”

See you along the path…