By early spring we had enough volunteers to arrange regular grocery deliveries for nine households.

The local pantry contributed food when clients qualified, while people paid for their own shopping when they could.

The lines remained clear: the project was practical help and neighborly contact, not an excuse for us to make decisions about anyone else’s finances.

At our kitchen table one evening, Elise looked at the growing calendar and said, “We may have started something whether we inherit the house or not.”

That thought was unexpectedly freeing.