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It took some begging, but during the Stay at Home order this past Spring, my mom and dad agreed to let the family shop for them. Whenever one of us went to the store, we would first contact my parents to see what they needed.

“It’s getting harder to find oranges,” I said to my daughter Lauren. “PawPaw and Mimi need some.”

“I just brought them oranges a couple of days ago,” Lauren said.

“They drink fresh juice every day. They go through a lot.”

A few days later my daughter Monique asked my parents for their shopping list. She couldn’t wait to share it with me.

“Mimi asked for peanut M&M’s, not peanut butter, peanut. They also need six bottles Barq’s root beer (not A&W), club crackers (only multigrain), red grapes (not huge ones), York peppermint patties, four bananas and peach preserves. She told me they already have apricot and strawberry, but they’re out of peach.”

“Did you get it all?” I said.

“Yes, and I threw in a couple of half-gallons of ice cream. I was so worried about them and wanted to be sure they had bread and milk. They’ll be fine, but they eat like teenagers.”

I can’t imagine how difficult it was for my mom to allow us to shop for her and to ask for not just what they needed, but what they wanted. She’s usually the one who takes care of us – all of us.

She was always on call for her grandchildren and toted them to dentist appointments, picked them up from school when they were sick (or when they said they were sick), and dropped off weekly Taco Bell lunches to school.

This week I asked for her chili recipe. It came with chili, hot dogs and buns.

Her life is one of giving and loving and serving, and we will never be able to do as much for her as she has done for us.

Although I still call when I’m on the way to the grocery, she is grateful to be able to shop for herself again. But if you see me putting peanut M&M’s and bottles of Barq’s in my shopping cart, you’ll know where I’m headed.

Ronny Michel can be reached at rmichel@rtconline.com.