After reading Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird extensively in English class, I have made a strong connection to the metaphorical meaning of the word mockingbird: a person who only does good and asks for nothing in return. If you were to apply this to the modern world, you could find numerous mockingbirds like global organizations such as UNICEF and Doctors Without Borders, but I’m thinking a little closer to home, specifically, my grandmother - Florence. As married couples age, it frequently occurs that one must take care of the other when he or she has serious health problems or diseases; my grandmother has been doing exactly that for the past decade, approaching it like a mockingbird. Over those years, she has cared for my grandfather as he has experienced strokes, cancer, diabetes, falls and fractures, infection, continuous physical therapy sessions, hospitalizations and doctor visits. As his Parkinson’s Disease progresses, he has become less and less responsive, often going for days at a time without speaking a single word to her.

Being a busy woman working at a small family owned enterprise, Florence is still able to make the time to take care of him driving miles and miles to reach doctors, hospitals, therapists, etc., giving him hours of necessary supervision all with a smile and occasional tears. Embarking on numerous visits to various medical buildings in hopes of his health condition staying where it is, or miraculously improving, she is willing and committed to do whatever it takes to keep him as comfortable and well off as possible. An example of this would be last January, when he had a serious bladder infection needing hospitalization. During his stay she stayed overnight several times, came to visit everyday for a couple of hours doing her best to make the room feel like home, and stay by his side to ensure he was in comfort and that he was getting better.

Having had Parkinson’s Disease for almost a decade amongst other health problems such as strokes, my grandfather has become very frail and passive, two things which make caring for him more difficult and the expectations from him even less. Despite all this Florence has been able to maintain a kind of optimism that isn’t easily found. Her optimism focuses on hope, which in this case is the idea that in time he will get better, but more generally it is powered by love and generosity. With this kind of an outlook on the circumstances she has been able to live past the affliction which his condition brings, living her life to the fullest, always cheery and bright.

Through all of these misfortunes she still finds time to relax and treat him to a recreational activity, things which might be small but mean a lot to them. An instance would be a couple weeks ago when he had just came from home from the hospital. It was around the holidays and she took him on a sleigh ride, an experience which most likely helped to keep my grandfather’s mind away from being very ill. Varying from waiting in medical offices, spending evenings leisurely after work, or when family comes to visit, she is capable of finding time to unwind by reading books, watching a movie, or having a nice conversation with someone.

These are the reasons why my grandmother, Florence, deserves to be attributed as one who only acts on goodness, asking for nothing in return. As married couples age, it frequently occurs that one must take care of the other when he or she has serious health problems or diseases; my grandmother has been doing exactly that for the past decade, approaching it like a mockingbird. Still living an independent, she manages to juggle work, recreation, and the care of her husband each with the utmost care; a skill that not everyone is competent to master. It doesn’t have to be a huge act of benevolence like the good deeds the global wide charitable organizations accomplish, small actions can be equally as powerful such as caring for one another with the highest endeavor of care and affection; but most importantly it’s about what you believe is right. There is hope for mockingbirds, and Florence is just one example.