A Royal Affair
I’d like to introduce you to a king and queen maker.
I’m guessing you didn’t know there was such a thing. I didn’t either until I met such a person.
Enter George.
“The QUEEN, the QUEEN,” George yelled from his truck. He waved vigorously to my Mom who was standing with me (6ft apart) in her driveway. She laughed and waved back calling for him to meet me. My Dad strolled out of from the backyard having heard the new voice.
“King Richard, you’re home too!” George bellowed from behind his giant pile of mail.
I proceeded to nod and smile as the three of them then relayed their years of mailbox conversations and visits to me. It turns out that George has not only been delivering my parent’s mail for ages, he has been living life alongside them the whole time too. I learned that he even checks-up on my Mom when she takes a walk around the neighborhood and then reports back to my Dad when he “has seen the queen” on this road or that.
While it wasn’t totally surprising that George has dubbed my parents the king and queen (despite having lived in the US for more than 40 years…they remain true to their English roots), it was surprising that he knew them well enough to even come up with nicknames that fit and were welcomed.
I was struck in that moment by what it means to be an essential worker.
Over the past many months, we have become acutely grateful for the essential workers in our communities. The people who have literally been the glue to keep our communities going. But it was in this moment, that I was reminded of the life work that goes on behind the scenes for all of us. The essential work that George does every day is not just about the mail, but about how he weaves people together throughout that neighborhood by creating a sense of belonging to each other.
When my mom stepped a few feet closer to George he put up his hand for her to stay where she was and simply said, “let’s keep you safe.” It wasn’t only about bringing my parents their mail that day, it was about being part of their lives, and at that moment keeping them safe.
Each day George brings more community into my parent’s lives, and in return, they do the same for him. And the truth is, we can all do this for each other, it doesn’t take much. Even the smallest gesture is a step that brings us closer together, and in this way, we all have the opportunity to be essential workers.
The work that bind us together is a job that we are all called to do. And even better than that, we are all qualified to do. Watching George reminded me that driving togetherness and building community doesn’t have to be complicated to be a royal affair!
So, my challenge for us today is to think about how we can all be essential workers in each other’s lives. What small gesture can you make today that lays the groundwork for the incredible power of togetherness to work its way into someone’s life?