Day 9’s Joy – A Conversation with my Neighbour
Yesterday joy found me, I didn’t have to try and create it. I was not in the best of moods
yesterday. I got up and felt like the
minute my feet hit the floor I was just go go go. Mornings like that always leave me feeling
frazzled which then bleeds into being more agitated with things like traffic or
work. By the time I got home I just
wanted to crash and zone out, of course the fact that I’m about to go on mini
vacation and my lawn desperately needed to be cut argued that I couldn’t do
that.
Grudgingly I headed out to mow the lawn. This is by far my least favourite chore,
largely due to allergies, so it’s hard to find joy in it. The universe had my back though. When I was about halfway done with my
backyard my little old lady neighbour came out and to our shared fence. I have known her for most of my life because
we moved to this house when I was 5. She
is a wonderful lady. Anyway seeing her
wander over I stopped mowing and went over to chat with her.
As she often does each summer, she had an envelope for me to thank me
for shovelling her sidewalk all winter.
I keep trying to tell her she doesn’t need to give me anything but she
always insists. She always tells me how
much she appreciates that I’m willing to shovel her sidewalk and that it’s just
a little something so I can do something fun on my vacation when I go. I always tell her the same thing – ‘thank you
so much, you honestly don’t have to do this.
I shovel your sidewalk because I couldn’t get over and do my grandma’s
sidewalk. It makes me feel good to put
that into the world.’ It doesn’t matter
that Nan isn’t around anymore I still feel very strongly about being able to do
it to keep her memory alive. If I can
help by doing something like shovelling a sidewalk so someone can stay independent
and in their own home I will do my best to help.
The sense of joy and satisfaction I get from this yearly discussion and
in fact from actually shovelling her sidewalk is the only thing I need. Hearing from her how much she appreciates it,
fills me with so much gratitude that I’m physically able to do it for her. There is just something really special about
knowing that I can help make her life a little easier. My time in this house is coming to an end and
she is definitely one of the parts that I will miss the most when I leave. It makes me appreciate the conversation all
the more.
After the 15 minute conversation with her, she wandered back into her
house and I went on to finish my lawn.
The mood and internal dialogue had shifted though. Doing something good for someone will always
come back to you and is never wasted. It
is a form of joy that will always lift you up, even months after you do it.
I suspect the next few days will be much easier to find joy as I’m
about to head off to one of my favourite places in the world. I will still be writing and seeking joy each
day but I won’t be able to share it until I get back. I am determined to keep going with this daily
challenge. I look forward to playing
catch up when I return. Much love and
gratitude to anyone reading this.
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