Yard work. If you have a yard, it’s always there … no matter what’s going on in life.
Just recently, Renaissance Man said to me: “How many times have we rolled in exhausted from another trip, with me saying I have to do the yard tonight, only to find out that it has already been done? Not because I’m not capable of doing it, but because a friend is being neighborly.”
So many times… and it’s been the most wonderful blessing.
The conversation brought to mind other “lawn mowing” blessings…
- Last year, my sister’s husband suffered a sudden, life-threatening illness. Today he’s doing great, but for an extensive time following his hospitalization, all of his energy had to be focused on getting well — not on yard work. For at least six months, a neighbor, out of the goodness of his heart, made sure their lawn was done.
- The first house Renaissance Man and I bought had several overgrown oleander bushes that needed to be removed. One Saturday morning, my husband was outside with his small chain saw, tackling the task, when a neighbor we hadn’t yet met walked up carrying a “real” chain saw. Originally from “up north” where he’d had to cut firewood, the man worked side-by-side with my husband to make quick work of our project. It was an interesting beginning to a friendship.
- A few years ago, while driving a lawn tractor down a nearby street (that’s another story), my husband saw a single mom struggling with a push mower in really deep grass …her three young children sitting on the porch. The oldest boy (maybe eight) started trying to help his Mom restart the mower after it died. Approaching their house, Renaissance Man whipped in and mowed the lawn … in three minutes tops. The young woman ran over to hand him a $5 bill. He just laughed and waved her off as he drove away without her ever knowing who he was.
Other situations where a yard work angel would be oh-so-welcome …
- Elderly community members
- Disabled community members
- Individuals or families dealing with chemo (or other difficult illness). Even if a spouse who usually handles the yard work is capable, wouldn’t it be a blessing for them to be able to focus instead on time with their spouse or sick child?
- A military family whose husband/father is deployed … or away at training.
What other situations can you think of? Have you ever been blessed by a yard work angel?
This is part of a 31-day series. To read previous posts, go HERE.
This is another excellent one. Around here, just about everyone I know (except me!) has a lawn service. At least that’s the way it appears. I need to keep my eyes open better and not assume that that is the case.
This post reminded me of a time long, long ago, when my sister (farm sister) was in the hospital two hours from our house for three weeks after surgery. One morning, we were having breakfast, and I heard a lawn mower. We looked out the window, and it was our neighbor, mowing our back lawn.
Dad had taken care of the front lawn and parts that that could be seen from the road, but he didn’t have the time for the more secluded back area where we played. It was a really nice thing that only a close neighbor would have known to do.
Helping someone with yard work is certainly something I don’t think about often. Thanks for the tip, Susan.
🙂
Marcia