Such was the case with then 26-year-oldChris Salvatoreand his 84-year-old neighbor Norma Cook.
After a quick greeting through the screened opening, he asked if he could come inside and say hello.
Once Cook agreed, the rest was history.
Cook lived alone with her belovedcat, Hermes, who she immediately introduced to Salvatore.
And the two quickly bonded over her favorite champagne and neighborhood gossip.
Over the course of their almost five-year friendship, they would share many precious memories.
From pizza nights to lunches out on the town, birthday parties, holidays, and endless laughs.
And he too considered her a grandmother.
I just couldnt do that to someone who is like my own grandmother, Salvatoresaidat the time.
Instead, he offered to have his ailing neighbor move in with him.
My apartment was the only place she would have moved.
Moving her in…it feels as though it was meant to be all along.
Its really fulfilling to be there for her.
Once Cook moved in, bringing along her dear Hermes, they quickly developed a routine.
When Cook finally passed away in February of 2017, Salvatore was heartbroken.
But the bond he shared with the elderly woman has stuck with him all these years.
I feel her watching over me and it is a happy feeling, Heexpressedat the time of her death.
I am forever a changed man and I thank this magnificent lady for everything she has taught me.
When we choose to love another, so many others feel it too.
Beautiful, bountiful, blessings bestowed upon those you never knew.
