When Life Reminds Us What Really Matters

There's something I need to share with you this week, and it comes straight from the heart. If Lakes Area Buzz has taught me anything, it's that our community thrives on authenticity, and sometimes the most important conversations are the ones that remind us we're all in this together.

This week's newsletter looks a little different than usual. I've been navigating a deeply challenging family crisis with my elderly mother, Elizabeth, and I need to be honest with you—the past two weeks have been absolutely brutal. I've really been a wreck. As her caregiver, I'm watching someone I love more than anything go through delirium, confusion, and possible decline. It's probably one of the hardest things I've ever had to do—watching this happen to my mother.

This past week has been even more challenging and difficult. There are moments when I can barely hold it together, when the weight feels too heavy, and when I have to remind myself just to breathe. If you've ever watched a parent or loved one go into decline, you know exactly what I'm talking about. The helplessness. The grief that comes in waves even while they're still here. The exhaustion that goes bone-deep. Sometimes, life just sucks. There's no other way to say it.

I pray my mother makes a turnaround for the best. I hold onto that hope every single day. But I've also prepared myself to accept that when the good Lord wants to take her, He will. That's the one thing that comforts me through all this—knowing that ultimately, there's a bigger plan beyond my understanding, and that I'm doing everything I can for her in the time we have.

I sympathize deeply with anyone who's going through this or has gone through it. It strips away our carefully maintained routines, our sense of control, and forces us to confront how fragile everything really is.
But here's what I want you to know: even in the hardest moments, this isn't just a story about struggle. This is a story about the incredible power of community, kindness, and the everyday heroes who make the Brainerd Lakes area the special place it is—especially when some of us are barely keeping our heads above water.

You Are the Light

Here's something that happened this week that changed everything for me: I was walking through Costco today, completely overwhelmed, carrying the weight of worry about my mom and everything else on my shoulders. I was on the verge of an emotional explosion—you know that feeling where one more thing might just break you completely? Then someone walking by simply smiled at me—a genuine, warm smile from a complete stranger.

That small gesture helped me get a little further. It warmed my heart when I desperately needed it. In that single moment, a person I'd never met became a hero in my story, probably without even realizing it.
And that's you. That's all of you reading this right now.

You are the people who smile at strangers. You hold doors open. You check on neighbors. You show up for each other in ways big and small. You create the fabric of kindness that holds this community together, especially when some of us are barely holding ourselves together.

The Ripple Effect of Kindness

I share this because I want to celebrate something remarkable: you never know when you're someone's hero. That person you pass at the grocery store might be fighting a battle you can't see—they might be a caregiver watching someone they love slip away, having the worst week of their life. The one sitting alone at a coffee shop might need exactly the acknowledgment you can offer. The driver next to you at a stoplight might be one genuine smile away from finding the strength to keep going.

Your simple acts of humanity aren't small at all—they're powerful, transformative, and exactly what makes our community extraordinary. You are changing lives every single day, often without even knowing it. You certainly changed mine this week.

What You Mean to This Community

I truly try to include all positive news and articles in Lakes Area Buzz because I believe our community deserves to celebrate what's good and inspiring. And right now, what's most inspiring to me is you—the readers, the neighbors, the everyday heroes who show up with kindness even when nobody's watching.

Even when I've been struggling to pull myself together, even when producing a full newsletter felt impossible, I keep coming back to this: our community deserves connection. You deserve to know that you're not alone when life gets hard, because it gets hard for all of us at different times.

I will work to return to a full newsletter next week. That's my goal and my commitment to this community I love. In the meantime, I have a request: if you're a religious person, would you please keep Elizabeth in your prayers? If not, would you please send her your positive vibes? The power of this community's collective care is something I truly believe in, especially now when I need it most.

Your Mission This Week

Here's my challenge to you, and I know you're up for it because you're already doing this work every day: be intentional about being someone's hero this week. Make eye contact. Smile genuinely. Hold the door a little longer. Say good morning with warmth. Acknowledge another person's humanity.

You have the power to change someone's entire day—or week, or moment—with such a simple gesture. The stranger who smiled at me will never know what they did for me, but I know. They gave me a reason to keep putting one foot in front of the other. And I'm asking you to pass that incredible gift forward.

The Strength We Share

These past two weeks have reminded me that resilience isn't about facing challenges alone or pretending we're okay when we're not. It's about the community that surrounds us when things get tough. It's about recognizing that we all have moments—sometimes days, sometimes weeks—when we need a little extra kindness, and we all have the power to be that kindness for someone else.

Life can be really hard sometimes. Watching a parent decline, being a caregiver, feeling helpless as someone you love struggles—it can knock us down and make us question how we'll get through another day. But it's in those moments that we discover what community really means—not just when everything is going well, but especially when everything feels like it's falling apart.

The Brainerd Lakes area isn't special because of its beautiful scenery or its attractions. It's special because of you—the people who make this place a home where kindness matters, where neighbors care, and where a simple smile can change everything for someone who's barely hanging on.

Thank you for being the heroes of this community. Thank you for your understanding. Thank you for the everyday acts of kindness that you probably think go unnoticed. They don't. They matter more than you know. They've mattered to me more than I can express.

With gratitude and deep appreciation,
Joshua McElmurray
Editor, Lakes Area Buzz