The doorbell rings and I look up, surprised. It's 8:30 in the morning - who could that be? I get up, annoyed at the intrusion, and open the front door. A young man is standing there, looking at me uncertainly. "Hi, Jake sent me. He said Richard might need help with the farm?" I'm momentarily speechless, before finding my voice. "Wow! That's - great," I say, taken aback. "Let me check with him. I'm Miriam, what's your name?"
"I'm Tony. Very nice to meet you," he says politely, shaking my outstretched hand.
"I'm Tony. Very nice to meet you," he says politely, shaking my outstretched hand.
I smile at him gratefully before turning around to talk to Rich about this unexpected gift from heaven.
Richard has been in pretty severe pain for the past 3 months. It started out with some swelling in his ankles and calves, and has since evolved to bad knee pain and limited movement. We have no idea what's causing this pain, and are regulars at the doctor's office. We are suspecting rheumatoid arthritis, but the blood work is inconclusive, so the doctors keep looking for other explanations.
Anyway, our friends know that he's been having a hard time with his mobility, so Jake offered to send us some help.
Tony stayed for several hours, cleaning out the chicken barn and putting fresh shavings in, and we've agreed to have him come by once a week to help out.
Then, last night, we stopped in at our friend Todd's place. He has an old shed with a wood-burning stove, and we love to hang out in there. There's nothing better than fire heat! We were sitting around, chatting, and I said something about how I thought we would be finished with all our projects at our place, and that I'm bummed we are still not done.
He looked at me kindly, and told me: "You are still on coastal time, kiddo. Relax! You've done a lot, and the rest will be finished in good time. Stop rushing."
What good advice! I've always been an impatient person, and I have the unfortunate habit of setting myself a multitude of tasks with unrealistic deadlines. When I inevitably fail to achieve everything I've set out to do, I'm disappointed in myself and think I should do better. Todd's reminder came at the perfect time! One of our goals with the move was to slow down and relax more, and the only person standing in my way is me. I'm working on it!
Last but not least, the door bell rang again at 4 in the afternoon, with our smiling neighbours standing in front of it, bearing gifts: a bottle of wine, homemade caramel popcorn, and fresh sausage rolls. They hadn't seen us in a while and wanted to see how Richard was doing, offering their help if we need it.
There are good people in our life, and we are so grateful.
xoxo Miriam
Top and bottom photos found on Pixabay, a great place to find copyright free photos and videos!
There is nothing like living in a small community like that. Sounds like you have the best people around you.
ReplyDeleteThese photos are amazing, by the way!
Aren't they?! I get all the photos I don't take myself from the website Pixabay. Take a look, there are thousands of incredible photos there!
DeleteIt's a true gift for bloggers, just as our new friends and community are for us.
You have the best neighbors! Just catching up on my reading. I hope Richard got the answers and is on the mend.
ReplyDeleteI've talked to them again tonight, they are amazing. J is 74 years old, but she's one of my closest friends ❤ She's funny, supportive, and curses on occasion - just my kind of girl! 😉
DeleteThis is so heartwarming. Thank God for good people.
ReplyDeleteThanks to them I'll never stop believing in the goodness of the world!
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