(Call Out) What You Can Do

Give them something sweeter.

Summer Sweets

Well, it’s over. In the words of Alice Cooper, “School’s out for the summer.”

That took on new meaning for us when our kids (now 11 and 16) became school age. Instead of being the release and relief felt by a child on Summer vacation, it became the pressure and planning of a parent keeping kids stimulated and active for almost three months.

Not to mention no “American Idol” or “Survivor.”

And “school’s out” has had a whole different meaning since I’ve been home caring for Marcy. I used to wonder why my wife’s favorite commercial was the late Summer, Staples commercial in which the parent dances around the store filling the shopping cart with the Christmas song “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” playing joyously.

I’ve learned so many things in the last few years.

That’s why I was so happy when the Cake Lady called again this week. You may remember in this column a few months ago we talked about a Christmas gift we received – four coupons, each good for a free cake anytime in 2005. “The Cake Lady” (thecakeladyis@bellsouth.net) had been reading this column and praying for us. She put her prayer in action and brought a beautiful cake for Darcy’s 11^th birthday.

The cake was so beautiful, all of Darcy’s friends asked how the cake lady had made it so pretty. Darcy said, “She didn’t make it. No one could make a cake that pretty.” When I told Darcy that the Cake Lady had made it herself, she asked me how. They didn’t worry about how the cake was made once they started eating it. All they could do was eat – I discovered why later when I tried the cake - it was delicious.

When I told the Cake Lady how the girls had wondered how she had made a cake so beautiful, she said she would be happy to teach Darcy and a few of her friends this Summer. We are blessed that many people want to help us and some offer to help in the future. But then life happens and things are sometimes forgotten. The cake lady didn’t forget.

She called this week and gave me several dates in June that she could help the girls. All I have to do is coordinate with Darcy’s friends and pick the best 3 or 4 days. All the girls have to do is bring a cake, icing, and the desire to learn.

If you give a person a fish, you feed them for a day. If you teach a person to fish, you feed them for a lifetime. If you teach a person to decorate a cake, you help them celebrate life any time and all the time.

If you know someone in need and think of something you can do to help, but now is not the right time, remember them when the time arrives. It is sure to be cause for celebration.

Every Day Is Precious is a column to remind us to treat everyone we see today as if it could be the last time we see them. It is written by Rob Payne, whose wife, Marcy, was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) in August of 2000. Now 42 years old, she has gone from winning 5 and 10K races to being quadriplegic and on a ventilator at home. For a collection of these columns in book form, more ways to help others, more about Marcy, or to receive email updates on her condition, visit www.EveryDayIsPrecious.com. Readers may contribute to her care by sending donations to Every Day Is Precious, 2051 Harvington Drive, Franklin, TN, 37069.

If you have helped someone without being asked, or know of someone who has, share it with others. Send to rob@everydayisprecious.com or to Every Day Is Precious, 2051 Harvington Drive, Franklin, TN. 37069.