Every week, Ethel Brooks
looks forward to Wednesday afternoon because that’s
when a beautiful bouquet of fresh flowers always seems
to find its way into her room at Emmanuel Home in Litchfield.
“I kind of wait for it each week
to see what I will get,” Brooks said. “It’s
such a wonderful thought. It sure means a lot to me, and
I’m sure it does to others.”
A former gardener, Brooks, 89, is a hospice
patient, living with inoperable lung cancer. She knows
her life is coming to an end, and that’s why the
weekly flower delivery from a local organization, Flowers
Of Mercy, is such a treat.
“For one who likes flowers, it means
a lot. I think it’s the most wonderful idea someone
thought of,” she said.
Flowers Of Mercy’s mission is to
deliver bedside bouquets anonymously to heal the spirit
and nourish the soul of the terminally ill. The organization’s
name is intended to capture how its board members and volunteers
feel about their role in the lives of dying.
“Mercy is just showing compassion,
a simple act of kindness without expectations,” said
Lyman Dale, who serves on the board of directors.
The project took root in February when
Lyman’s wife, Sue, came up with an idea to deliver
fresh flower bouquets to people who are terminally ill.
The Dales thought it would be an appropriate way to reach
out to them in a meaningful, yet unintrusive, way.
“They never have a good day; they
never have a day to look forward to, and every week they
get the freshest flowers,” Lyman said. “Nothing
brightens a day like getting flowers. When someone gives
you flowers, the first thing you do is smile.”
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