Reach out and stay connected

To my way of thinking, there are a multitude of good reasons for living in a small town, especially here in Sisters where neighbors help neighbors.

Since taking a temporary leave from my writing assignments for The Nugget, I have received kind offers of help and a lovely handwritten note from a Nugget reader whom I’ve never met, wishing me well. Friends and neighbors have been checking on me regularly. My neighbor, Jim, cleared my driveway and front walk after our last snow. I guess I just started my social distancing a little early, for which I am thankful.

Last Thursday, the spirit of caring here in Sisters came right to my front door. I have enjoyed a rewarding relationship with the Sisters Garden Club, initially as an active member the first few years after I moved here. More recently, I have been writing articles about their annual Quilts in the Garden tour held the Thursday of Quilt Show Week.

The garden club has always been generous with their monetary support of various community programs and organizations. Last week their generosity, totally unexpected, extended to me. Two of their members, Tim Toth and Ruth Palmer, brought me a beautiful white orchid plant with a colorful heart-shaped plate on which to set it and a generous gift certificate to an online food delivery service. To top it off, Ruth and Tim raked up all the pine needles and cones in my front yard (and there were tons).

The kindness and generosity of the Sisters Garden Club toward me, is an example of the way Sisters residents pull together and offer support, not only in times of difficulty but year-round.

Currently, we are all living through an unprecedented health crisis that is impacting every facet of our lives. We each have the ability to do something. Call and check on elderly or disabled neighbors. Offer to help out a family with children out of school or parents out of work. Run errands, deliver groceries, pick up prescriptions, leave a surprise like home-baked cookies or a bouquet of flowers on someone’s doorstep. Drop a line to a friend. Let someone know you are thinking of them.

We are all in this together. Whether or not you can leave your house, reach out and stay connected.