Day 5 without my husband.
The noise of the City snow ploughs clearing the street awakened me.
My heart sank as I looked at the huge snow windrow the plough left behind plugging the driveway. It was about 4 feet high and thick with big chunks of snow and ice from the road.
I knew that I was not strong enough to shovel that amount of snow. I dreaded having to tackle it with the snow blower. I also doubted that the snow blower would be able to handle the big chunks — not to mention that I did not want another snow shower in my face such as I had experienced yesterday.
I went back to bed.
A Good Samaritan
When I awoke after a couple of hours of restless sleep, I took another look out the window.
To my surprise, the snow windrow was cleared away; the snow that had come late last night and covered the driveway was shovelled; and the walkway was cleared.
I checked my neighbour’s driveways as sometimes they help me when my husband is away. Both were still plugged with snow so I doubt that either of them had done this wonderful favour for me.
My good Samaritan may have been one of the young women who live down the street. I helped one of them with her car yesterday when she was stuck on the curve of our street.
Unfortunately, I’m not quite sure of their exact address and I definitely don’t know their names.
Neighbours
This act of kindness has me thinking about my neighbours. We have lived at our address for 22 years yet, except for the people on one side of me, I don’t really know any of them — not even their names.
While I worked I had a good excuse — I was never around. With retirement, I’m involved with many activities outside of the neighbourhood and spend most of the summer months living at the cottage.
Today I’ve made a resolve to change my relationship to my neighbours.
I’ll start by introducing myself as I meet neighbours at the mailbox or during walks on the street. I’ll make a point of asking their names and transcribing the names once I get home so that I can use their names when I see them again. I’ll ask about their families without being intrusive but I’ll take an interest in their lives.
I may not be able to directly re-pay the kindness I received today but I can ‘pay it forward’ with other actions that support that good Samaritan’s generosity. I’ll ‘join’ the neighbourhood rather than keeping myself apart.
