Last night, I folded twenty five cranes to bring to a nearby hospice, a place I’ve been visiting frequently these last few months. I hand painted and beaded one of them for a friend of mine who has been a patient there for several months. This morning I came into her room with a basketful of colorful cranes and presented her the beaded crane. She asked me to hang it where she could see it and thought it was beautiful. I read her the quote by Sadako Sasaki “I will write peace on your wings and you will fly all over the world.” She was visibly touched.
When I told her I brought the basket of cranes for her to give to other patients and caregivers, her eyes became bright and she pushed the call button for her favorite nurse. When the nurse arrived in the room she asked “what do you need?” My friend told her she wanted her to have first pick of the cranes and that was all. The nurse picked out a pretty red one, smiled and gave me a big hug. She said that was just what she needed.
For a while today I was able to get out of my own stuff and visit a friend who needed to get out of her own stuff. Together we were able spread a little joy and maybe some hope, one paper crane at a time.