Lucy lives next door to Mom and Dad. She is my youngest sister and she has the most loving, generous heart of anyone I know. Lucy’s life revolves around meeting the needs of others. What does she not do? She is like one of those women from another era – she cooks fabulous meals, volunteers at school, takes care of her friends’ kids when crises hit their lives and brings up her own two wonderful boys. But it’s the care and devotion she lavishes on our parents which really makes her stand out.

Mom and Dad need almost everything done for them: she does their shopping, cooks their meals, cleans their house, bathes Mom, gets her on the toilet every few hours and keeps track of all the amazing things she says. She does it all with humor and love: she makes them feel special, like they are the very ones she’s been waiting all day to see.

Lucy’s husband Robert takes care of the plumbing, the electrical jobs, the washing machine crises, the garden and the heavy lifting. He has built an amazing ramp so Mom can go in and out of the house with ease and there is nothing he can’t fix. He is a darling and a jewel and none of it would be possible without his open, loving Italian heart.

It makes their lives good. It makes our lives great. Just knowing they are there lets us sleep at night.