Wintery Good Will

You know winter has arrived when you have to wake up early, not to work out but to shovel snow and this is the case in Calgary as we have now been hit with a full-fledged winter storm. I think I have shoveled more snow in the last two days than I did all of last year (payback no doubt for such a mild winter last year). I will admit that as positive as I try to be, shoveling snow can have a tendency to leave me feeling cranky, so when I got up this morning the last thing I wanted to do was shovel the snow. The grown up in me knew that I didn’t have a choice though so I put on my mp3 player and headed out. What I saw surprised me (and no it wasn’t the amount of snow, although seriously it’s only the beginning of November…eek!). When I looked across the quiet street I saw one of the neighbours shovelling the sidewalk for his home and the two on either side of him.

I should step back a little and explain a little something about me and snow shovelling. A few years ago I started to shovel my neighbour’s sidewalk. It only added maybe five to ten minutes to my time outside so it didn’t seem like a big deal. The theory in my head behind me starting was that if I put that good will out into the world and was a snow angel for my older neighbour maybe someone would do the same for my Nan. Now several years later my Nan has someone that we pay to have come out and do her yard but seeing my neighbour shovelling the sidewalks on each side of his house made me smile because he is a fellow snow angel. Even though I’m sure I had nothing to do with it, part of me can’t help but wonder if he had seen me doing my neighbour’s walk and decided to give it a shot himself. I know the neighbours around here do notice because more than one of them has told me how sweet I am for doing it but I just shrug it off but maybe I am having some influence on the people around me. And maybe this one guy will now keep being a snow angel for his neighbours. And then maybe someone else will see him and start doing their neighbours. Before long we could have a city full of snow angels.

I have never wanted to be famous or anything like that but I have always wanted to do my part to make the world a better place even if it is just for my neighbour next door. So when I see someone else following my lead (even if I don’t know if he is doing it because of me) I can’t help but smile. I can only speak for myself, but each time I finish shovelling Mrs. Kay’s sidewalk I feel really good about it. I know that it helps her and helps her family. She has told me how much she appreciates it but in spite of all that I can’t help but feel a little selfish because I do it because of how good it makes me feel.

So as we settle in to those long winter months I would challenge everyone out there to take a few extra minutes and shovel your neighbours’ sidewalk. You never know how much of a help it will be to them and how good it will make you feel. So be a little selfish this winter, put your favourite music in your ears and shovel an extra sidewalk or two.