Building our Community
A couple of days ago I got a call from a friend. She told me that she and her husband had decided to change their diet and eat vegetarian. She wondered if Travis could make use of the meat in their freezer. They showed up with three large bags of food. Her timing was perfect as we were completely out of the wild game in our freezer.
Travis does get food assistance benefits. It is not enough to buy meat. Before Covid-19 the assistance he received was enough to buy two gallons of milk and one loaf of bread per week. During Covid-19 the government increased benefits nationwide.
Travis will not go hungry. We fill in the gaps. Tracy has hunted deer, antelope, elk, turkeys, geese, pheasant and quail for years. We have always eaten everything that he hunts. We go through the meat much faster when filling Travis’s freezer as well. A few years ago Tracy told me that we could have more meat if I hunted with him. I attended a hunter’s safety course and have done a bit of hunting myself.
Hunting doesn’t always go as planned and we ran out of wild game meat earlier than usual this year.
I started to think about what an amazing group of friends and family we have, our community, and how much they all care about Travis. And us.
These friends are not the first friends to give us meat for Travis. We have a friend that gave us several pounds of elk meat when her husband passed. She knew that she wouldn’t be able to get through it by herself. She also gave us a bunch of personal care items for Travis, such as men’s soaps.
We also have good friends that have not only given Travis several pounds of elk meat, they also give him a huge stocking every Christmas. The stocking is filled with deodorant, razor blades, socks, batteries, lighters and food.
Years ago, when we first moved to the foothills, I started a Bunco group for the neighborhood ladies. The group grew fast and we were playing with 16 ladies each month and had an additional 10-12 ladies on the substitute list. When Travis’s microwave died I sent the Bunco Babes an email and asked if anyone had an extra microwave collecting dust in their garage before I bought him a new one and yes! One of the babes had just sold a second property and had an extra!
Another friend in the group asked me if I knew of anyone that could use a nice area rug that she was giving away after she remodeled her house. Travis has that rug in one of the rooms in his house. It’s beautiful.
One friend brought some household goods by for us to look at for Travis, he ended up with some great mugs and dishware.
One friend always has some small Christmas items for Travis. She always thinks of Travis when she is crafting and even sends home some goodies for him.
Over the years we have had many friends and family members offer support in caring for Travis:
Travis’s grandfather spent time in his shop with Travis, teaching Travis some welding skills.
Travis’s aunt and uncle had Travis spend some time with them and even took him to practice his driving skills.
Corey’s husband Matt and Matt’s mom included Travis in a trip to their cottage on a lake in Maine. This was before Matt and Corey were married!!
An employee at one of my businesses gave Travis rides to school, took Travis out to eat, and even welcomed Travis in his home when I was crazy busy with work.
The manager of Spirit Halloween that gave Travis his first community work opportunity.
The dyslexia specialist that worked with Travis for free as she worked on obtaining additional licensing for autism.
Neighbors have shared harvests from their gardens with Travis.
Friends and family members that have answered the random phone call from Travis to talk about random things.
The neighbor that checked on Travis’s cat and bird while we were on vacation.
Friends and family members that watch every video that Travis has made on his phone in the last year.
There are just too many good deeds to mention. Too many to even recall.
We are grateful to everyone that has shown their love and support for our family. Your good deeds are imprinted in our hearts.
I am also grateful to each person that has read the blog. I appreciate everyone that has commented on the blog, or liked and shared on our Facebook page. I also appreciate all of you that may not feel comfortable adding comments, but have sent prayers or good vibes our way.
And to all of you that ask me how Travis is doing each time you see me.
I thought that raising a child with special needs and mental health issues was the hardest thing I have ever done. Turns out raising an adult with special needs and mental health issues is harder yet.
One of the things that I wrote in the About section of my blog was that maybe we can build a community where we help each other get through whatever is happening now together. The readers with similar situations. The readers that want to learn more in order to better understand and maybe even help others. Friends and family.
As I think about all of the ways others have stepped up for our family, I realize that we have been building our community for years.
I am a giver. I hope that you have received something in reading the blog. In knowing us. And in being part of our community.
“Be the community you want to have.” - Darren Rowse
“The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.” - Coretta Scott King
“Giving connects two people, the giver and the receiver, and this connection gives birth to a new sense of belonging.” - Deepak Chopra
“When I came here, I was looking for a community. Then I realized I was helping to create one.” - Author Unknown