Dear Darlings,
Okay, so maybe “Saint Lucas” is a stretch, but did you ever see the movie St. Vincent with Bill Murray and Melissa McCarthy? Bill Murray plays Vincent a crotchety older man who gets a baby sitting gig watching Melissa McCarthy’s son. It’s a fabulous story about how you can find heroes in the unlikeliest of places. The parallels between Lucas and St. Vincent are there…except Lucas isn’t a drunk war vet who likes to gamble and hang out with strippers (at least not that I know of!). But both Lucas and St. Vincent are called upon to do things they might not wanna do, but do them anyway…so that’s where my parallels are drawn.
Anyway…
I’m going to brag on Lucas a little, because I don’t think I brag on him enough. So for those of you who know him, go easy on him with the ribbing after you read this.
Lucas. He’s the one who is called upon to do all manner of chores for my mom. She asks him to change lightbulbs in high places, put up Christmas lights on her outside trees, bring boxes down from her attic, change batteries in her smoke detectors and help her with any (and all) computer issues. He might not want to, but he always says yes when she asks for help. Her friends and neighbors have started calling on him to come and help them with their computer issues and he always says yes. Sometimes, I’m sure there’s a moment’s hesitation about saying yes or perhaps an inner-eye-roll, but that’s not the point. The point is, he says yes to what is asked of him. When he gets there he has a smile on his face, and he gets the job done.
As Father Geraghty says (from the movie), “A saint is a human being we celebrate for the sacrifices they make, for their commitment to making the world a better place.” In my mom’s world, and I think her neighbors’ worlds as well, this is a description which fits Lucas. He says yes when maybe he really wants to say no, but he’s making a conscious effort to make someone’s world a better place. And for that I couldn’t be more proud of him. There is nothing better in this world than working to make someone’s world a better place, even if it’s just one person.
Okay, I’m done bragging on Lucas. It’s time for me to take his example to heart and do something to make someone’s day a little brighter. Won’t you join me?
xo,
Mom
Oh, for the love of my children... 