I had a very eventful day and I feel happy that I got so many worthwhile things accomplished in one day. It started out as most other days. I’m a compassionate caregiver and I have a client who has been in the hospital for several days. He was able to come home today. As you can imagine, he was very happy to be home. His wife, and most ardent cheerleader, has had to deal with the additional burden of having to worry if their house would still be standing. San Diego is on fire. Today some areas of the county have out of control fires raging, fanned by the hot Santa Ana winds. My clients have a house very near to the epicenter of one of the fires. In addition to having to deal with her husband’s worsening condition, she has the fire to deal with. Fortunately for all involved, she is a strong woman. I left their house about 7 PM.

I had plans with Miguel (the current Sanchez brother living with me. For additional info see my earlier blogs “Other People’s Lives” & “On Being Thankful”) for the evening. We went to do errands when Jesus, the youngest brother called. He has been having some difficulty lately with accommodations (a place to sleep). He recently met up with his friend, Steven, who offered him a job and a place to stay. Jesus wondered if I would buy some groceries for Steven’s family, as his offering of thanks, for a place to stay. I was most happy to do it. I loaded up brothers Miguel & Cesar and we went off to Food4Less. I bought $50 worth of groceries then turned to Miguel and asked him “What would you like to offer to your youngest brother?” To his credit, he offered $12 worth of additional items. We drove it over to where Jesus was working.  He jumped in the car then we went to Steven’s house to drop off the groceries, then returning him to work. I was so happy that Jesus was taken care of, at least temporarily.

On our way home we stopped off to get pizza. We drove home and as soon as we turned the corner, I realized that my garage door was open and the bicycle was stolen. I was in such a hurry to go that I forgot to put the door down, my bad. I got angry for a few minutes then I realized that this was a teaching moment. I “got off it” then continued with our earlier plans. I helped Miguel edit his blog post for the week. We watched a little American Idol. Then Cesar wanted my help. Cesar is a drag queen, very narcissistic and into his own looks. He was all dressed up then asked for a ride to meet his friends, so I took him there. Once again, I’m happy that Cesar was taken care of, at least temporarily.

There is only so much I can do and I realize it. With my limited means, I feel very fortunate to be able to do what I do. I have high hopes for Miguel. He has a job and is turning out to be a good, conscientious worker. He will enroll in college this summer and I would love to see him be the first college graduate in his family.

I have high hopes for all the boys.

It’s late, the news is on and were watching the stories about the different fires burning around here. I can’t help but wonder how everything will turn out. I have high hopes! Let’s see what tomorrow brings…