When you love someone, you check on them.
You make sure that they are in good spirits and in good health.
Being there for someone can make an immense difference in their lives.
That’s why the relationship between 7-year-old Caleb and his 87-year-old neighbor is so special.
Caleb, a first-grader, really cares for Wilma.
Her grandaughter Darrien Middleton was so impressed by his love for Wilma that she wrote about it on social media and it ended up going viral.
“This kid comes and visits my grandmother every day… 4-5 times a day. He just told me it was to check on her, to make sure she wakes up from all her naps,” she wrote, according to Yahoo. “My heart can’t take this.”
Middleton’s post ended up being shared more than 145,000 times.
“My grandmother, Wilma (better known as nana) walked into my life when I was just 2-years-old. Since then, we have been attached at the hip. Of course, I loved her growing up as a child, but our bond has become extremely strong now that I have gotten older,” Darrien told Love What Matters.
Wilma was diagnosed with lung cancer and breast cancer two years ago and is a fighter.
Middleton has tried to get Wilma to move in with her but she stubbornly wants to stay in her own home where she’s lived for 38 years.
“She loves her home, her independence, her yard, and especially her neighbors. Every morning around 6 am, she wakes up, makes a cup of coffee, and goes directly to her porch,” Middleton says.
While some might say Wilma’s house is in “the wrong side of town.”
Wilma’s neighbors are the kind of neighbors everyone should have.
“They check on her multiple times throughout the day and have even helped me get her to chemotherapy and radiation appointments. They are honestly what keeps Nana going. I can’t go over to her home without someone at some point yelling ‘Hey Ms. Wilma, How ya doing?’ She knows everyone by name and they know and love her just as much as I do,” Middleton explains.
Caleb is the grandson of one of Wilma’s neighbors.
Wilma has known Caleb since he was 2.
But she sees him a lot more often now that he recently moved in with his grandmother.
Middleton says Wilma is “obsessed” with the boy and always talks about how good he can dance, how much he loves school, and how he can make anyone laugh.
“She just talks about how good of a kid he is and how kind he is. She gives him things here and there, she treats him like he’s her grandson,” she said.
And it doesn’t hurt that Wilma likes to cook for him.
Wilma just loves the company and Middleton believes that her health, despite her diagnosis, and positive outlook can be attributed to the love of those around her, like Caleb.
“I don’t think she would be that way if she didn’t have people around her constantly uplifting her, like her neighbors,” she said. “I am so thankful for it — and I know my grandma is, but I really am, too. It’s just been a blessing to have them.”
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