DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: There is an older couple on our block who are the sweetest, kindest, most considerate people I have ever met. They take care of the rest of the families on the block like we are their actual family.
Recently, the husband has started having some health issues, and when we and some of our other neighbors offered to help in any way we can, the wife said they had everything under control and thanked us.
Without forcing ourselves on these good people, what can we neighbors do to repay all that they’ve done for us over the years? --- WANT TO HELP
DEAR WANT TO HELP: Perhaps the way to repay your favorite neighbors isn’t through any grand gestures, but with ongoing small services such as taking in their trash or recycling bins, weeding a flowerbed, offering to pick up groceries for them while you’re at the store, or dropping off “leftovers” that you intentionally made too much of.
There are many small things you can do that may not seem like much to you, but will at least let the neighborhood grandparents know they’re being thought of and that there are people ready, willing, and able to repay some of their good acts through the years.