Category Archives: caregiving

A new journey begins, aging, blogging, breast cancer, Cancer, caregiving, challenges, change, Christmas, classic movies, community, December, family, Hardware Store Life, Home, Hometown Holidays, journey in life, Life experiences, Life In Wilkes, Resilence, The Grinch, Transitions in Life

The Grinch That Didn’t Steal My Christmas

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Often the Christmas Classics have an unscrupulous or “misfit”character that is central in the story. As the Christmas story unfolds, that unruly character evolves and begins to change over time, reaching a new level of understanding and empathy. The Grinch is no stranger to this scenario. The Grinch has a unique meaning for me this 2025 holiday season.

The Grinch… the neighbor North of Whoville who hated the entire Christmas season.

The Grinch…hated the thought of the people of Whoville experiencing joy on Christmas Day. He stole all of the Christmas presents, stockings, Christmas trees, feasting food and even the firewood logs!!!

The Grinch…hoped the joy of Christmas would be spoiled, every home had been emptied by him as he taken all of their possessions. But, it didn’t happen. The people of Whoville celebrated Christmas anyway.

The Grinch… eventually realized that Christmas had come without all the excitement of Christmas presents, toys, wrapping paper, and all the other components of how we often celebrate Christmas Day. Christmas was about something so much more.

The Grinch… Experiencing Cancer, sickness OR even the loss of a loved one during the holiday season. These life altering events can definitely steal the Joy of the Holiday Season and leave you feeling sad, stressed or “Grinchy”.

The Grinch…personally present for me this holiday season, but NOT stealing the hope for healing, or the joy of celebrating the holiday season with family and friends. Will the holiday look potentially different? Yes. But, so will the next few months. Meeting my care team, Surgery, radiation, and ❤️‍🩹 begin the process of healing and recovery.

The Grinch… learned that the Whoville community gathered together to celebrate what was wonderfully good about Christmas, ultimately making his heart grow bigger.

The Grinch… has nothing our own hardware community….We are blessed. I always look forward to your smiles, laughter, and conversations as you have continued to shop with us for the last 10 years. You have become a part of our family.

The Grinch… The arrival of Cancer within my own life has made me very thankful and grateful for my community of family and friends who are supporting me daily as I embark upon a journey to find wellness once again. My heart is full of strength, hope, and courage as I continue to live ONE day at a time.

The Grinch… Unable to steal Christmas away, because Christmas is so much more than the day itself. Christmas is more about tiny acts of kindness, compassion, community spirit, and finding Grace in second chance opportunities.

The Grinch… Often when sickness or grief comes, we don’t allow ourselves the opportunity to live in full grace. The daily mantra should be for us all, not just cancer patients to live ONE DAY AT A TIME. When experiencing grief, anxiety, sickness, or cancer, every single day can be challenge with ever changing health conditions, or emotions. Through God’s grace, tomorrow is a uniquely different day. Celebrate the positive days and allow ourselves to rest when we need to.

Foot Note: Earlier this month, I was officially diagnosed with Invasive Ductal Breast Cancer, my Grinch. This cancer was found after my regularly scheduled mammogram. I strongly encourage everyone to keep all medical screening appointments. It’s so easy to get “busy” in the moment and forget about or delay them months down the line.

My initial prognosis is good and surgery will be scheduled soon. I have two appointments this week in Winston Salem. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers over the next few months. I covet your prayers.

I know many of you that might be reading this today, have faced similar health challenges whether it was long term sickness, loss of a dear loved one, or a personal battle with cancer and can empathize with my personal situation.

Moving forward, we may find it necessary to alter our store hours to accommodate my appointments. Please be patient with us as we try to navigate this new “un-normal” phase of life for us.

Please also consider that if you reach out to our social media pages that a response might be delayed due to this new phase “unwellness” I am experiencing. That being said, If you need an immediate response to a specific product question, please call the hardware store for further assistance. We thank you for your support and understanding.

Wishing y’all a very Merry Christmas season! 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄

caregiving, challenges, Curbside Service, Hardware Store Life, memories, Shop Local, Transitions in Life

Our Family… Always First

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Total honesty post…

The picture I’m sharing with y’all today is from our trip back from Yadkinville last night. The sunset was breathtaking. Richard commented on its grandeur as we began our drive back from Mountain Valley Hospice House. I was able to capture only a small portion of the skies natural state. Richard & I have made this trip together regularly for the last week now. Spending a few moments each day with a very sick loved one, are minutes that I will treasure always. 💕

So I’m just getting it out there, these times are hard. Everyone is struggling somehow in life. Life is not “normal “ anymore. COVID 19 has changed how we live and work or not working. Changes have been coming fast in the last few months and some folks have been sick. People are ready to get things back to normal.

That being said, I am going to address the next phase of business for us at Wilkes County Hardware and what our current vision looks like.

After May 8th, WCH will still do curbside service only at this time. We will slowly proceed with caution. Our WCH staff is like our family. Many of you know, Wayne has been home waiting out the brunt of the COVID crisis and we miss him dearly🤗. Our staff has been great to work through such a unique & challenging time. We love & appreciate each and every staff member at WCH. As a business owner, we feel compelled to create a safe & healthy working environment for our staff, they are our family too.

Many folks have been gracious, kind and understanding of the new normal at WCH, curbside service only. Please know that we value each and everyone of you!!! We must take care of our family first, immediate family and our staff. So business will not be normal for us for a while longer. We appreciate your kindness and understanding as we do our best to help you with your hardware store needs.

Eventually our plans are to gradually reopen our doors, welcoming our customers & community back inside the rustic walls of Wilkes County Hardware. Social distancing and other criteria will be in place when we reopen based on the current CDC recommendations. Please stay posted for further updates and information.

Thank you

Richard & Angela Searcy

caregiving, challenges, Hardware Store Life, memories, southern cooking, supper, Transitions in Life

Cornbread & Caregiving

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Southerners know that cornbread is a staple at the dinner table. I grew up with it, & ate it religiously. As I grew older and moved away from home, the desire for “Southern style” foods were… if I’m honest, not as visible on my grocery shopping list. I guess you could say I had gotten away from my roots in Southern cooking. But, a trip back to my grandparents house is always a great way to get a “Southern cooking fix”, ie- cornbread, homemade biscuits, mustard greens, mashed potatoes, fresh green beans, fried chicken… we always seem to have a feast for a crowd.

My blog page has been fairly silent the last few months. My grandparents have experienced health setbacks that have been keeping me busy since January 2nd as I am one of their main caregivers.

Both of my grandparents will be 92 this year!!! Another milestone they will reach this year, their anniversary of 74 years of marriage!!!! Honestly, how many people can say they have been married that long???? It is amazing & beautiful to see how connected these two people are to each other.

During these last few months, I have cooked a lot of Southern style meals for my grandparents, because that is what they love to eat, and are accustomed to eating. Many meals around the grandparents house will always include a biscuit or cornbread. Biscuits, are usually a morning favorite, & cornbread served at lunch and supper. Cornbread in a small Lodge skillet is easy to prepare while the rest of the meal is cooking.

My husband has become quite envious of the fresh cornbread in the Lodge skillet and I believe it will be a regular addition to our routine at our house soon. He has always loved all things cornbread- sliced or cornbread muffins.

Caregiving is hard. Most of us will undertake this task at some point in our lives. If you know someone who is currently a caregiver for a family member, take time to check on them. A simple text message, phone call, visit, etc can mean a world of difference to them. Caregivers need support too.

Caregiving has been quite a journey. I have met some wonderful people, and I have learned a lot about elder care. That could be a totally separate blog post but… First and foremost, cooking and caring for my grandparents and doing all other things they need is what I do.

I have come to realize that these small little moments in time should be treasured because my time with them is fleeting. We are not guaranteed time in this world forever, so I will always enjoy the hot cornbread and company of two very special people in my life while I can.