Just Clean the f*cking Crockpot
How the simplest acts of service can help a griever or someone going through a tough time.
By: Kera Sanchez, Get Griefy Editor-in-Chief
I’ve been out of the acute phase for a while now. We just celebrated the third birthday since my mom unexpectedly passed away on vacation in Italy. Lately, I’ve been reflecting on how much I’ve grown in my grief—but also how the small things pile up fast. As a mom to two little girls, a full-time educator, and a wife to a husband away on military duty, I’m constantly aware of how little “help” I have. Both my mom and mother-in-law are gone.
Today at school, we had a potluck to celebrate one of my favorite people in the building, our secretary. To be honest, potlucks stress me the f*ck out. I already leave for work at an ungodly hour, wrangle two toddlers before 6:30 a.m., and try to look halfway presentable by my expected start time at 7:15 am. The added task of hauling in a crockpot of buffalo chicken dip? The straw that broke the camel’s back.
All day, as I trauma-treated myself with tamales, flan, and dip, I dreaded the moment I’d have to deal with that sad, crusted crockpot, sitting on simmer all day and drag it home to scrub. But when I walked to retrieve it at the end of the day, there it was—shining under the fluorescent lights. A coworker had washed it for me.
NOT EVEN JOKING—this made my day.
Here’s the thing: when someone is grieving or just drowning in life, we overcomplicate what to do.
The truth? Just clean the f*cking crockpot. Take a small task off their plate. Bring dinner. Take out the garbage. Grab their groceries. Pick up dog poop. Load the dishwasher. Seriously.
This goes beyond grief. Imagine if we all just led with love and compassion—if we simply did the thing that could make someone’s day easier.
Small actions lighten heavy loads. They make the world softer, kinder, and more bearable.
I promise you—it makes the world a better place, and all of our loads a little lighter.
Until next time griefy people,
Kera
Kera Sanchez, Editor-in-Chief of Get Griefy Magazine, Secondary Dean of Students
