When I was in elementary school, roughly around the age of 11 or 12, my class participated in a community outreach program at the local retirement home. We were each paired with an elderly person randomly with whom we would spend an hour a week chatting or playing cards. Back then it was part of the curriculum but not considered as mandatory community hours needed for graduation, which is now something my daughter is expected to do. My new friend for the year was Helen Snow.
My memory is not what it used to be so I don't really remember what Helen and I did during our weekly time together and I think it doesn't really matter. Helen didn't have a lot of family visiting so just by being there to listen to her with a kind ear, I quickly became an extended part of her family as she did with mine. The program came to an end but our friendship didn't. I continued to visit her on my own time and even invited her to my family's home for my grade 8 graduation celebration.
Sadly, that was the last time I saw her. My time was taken up with high school and homework and finding my special place in that complicated social structure. I manged to correspond with her on occasion over those years but it wasn't until I was in my 20's when my mother informed me that Helen had passed away. She had seen the obituary in the newspaper. Looking back, I wish I had not let our friendship fade away like snowflakes melting on your cheek. Every time that happens to me now, I think of Mrs. Helen Snow and hope she remembers me too.
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