Random Act Of Kindness

I've been struggling the last few days. Lots of pain in the hands. This is not something new. I've had it for years. Many years. I've been tested for everything. Nobody could ever tell me why. After researching on my own, the probable cause is rheumatoid arthritis. It's not an every day pain. I feel blessed by that. I call it my rain pain because it coincides with the coming rain. It doesn't happen every time it rains, but every time it happens, it rains within a time span of 1 to 3 days. After all of these years, I've noticed some significant loss of strength in my hands. In my left hand, I now have a finger that does not close smoothly and kind of pops (not like a knuckle pop) when I make a fist. It's annoying, but not usually painful. I do not suffer with this at all during Winter and most of Fall.

If you have been with me since the beginning, you know how I loathe to mow my lawn. There comes a time in summer where I can sort of get away with not mowing because it only grows when it rains. The hardest part for me is edging. I physically have a hard time doing the edging, so that's the part that tends to get away from me.

I've been telling myself the last week, especially with the somewhat cooler weather... or at least there was one day last week that was nice... that I need to get out early and get this stuff done. But alas... the pain arrived and I pretty much said, "Oh well". Today was a particularly tough morning for me as far as the rain pain goes, and I have two 12 hour shifts coming up tonight and tomorrow. So my coming weekend wasn't looking good for yard work. Plus, I can pretty much make up a million excuses for not doing it... easily. I'm real good at that.

I go to bed early this morning. For me. And about an hour ago, I got woke up by someone's mower. As I'm laying in bed listening and wondering why it seems so loud, I realize it's MY lawn that's being mowed. I looked at the clock... it was 1:30. I couldn't understand why my dad had come over in the heat of the day to mow for me (because sometimes he will do things like this). I got up and looked out my window and I don't see my dad's truck. Not in the front, not on the side, not in the back. Then I see the guy mowing on this huge professional sized mower and I'm all "somebody is at the wrong house". So I call my dad, because I'm thinking maybe he hired someone? At this point I'm thinking anything. He said he didn't. So I got brave (believe me... this is brave for me to approach someone I don't know) and went out there to ask him if he's just mowed and edged my lawn by mistake.

Enter... my neighbor. Not Mr. Throwsstuffinyards guy. These are my newest neighbors, the young couple. I think they've been there for a little over a year now. Maybe closer to two. His name is Sergio. He says his lawn company just got this new mower and he really likes the yard work thing and since he didn't have any grass, (his lawn is suffering the heat as well) he thought he'd help out and that it was really no big deal. Said he used to do it for his neighbors at the last place they lived.

Well Sergio... it IS a big deal. It was thoughtful, generous and kind. I am tearful with gratitude because you have no idea how little things like my stupid lawn weigh heavy on my mind, especially after the whole code enforcement thing last year.

It was a very small thing for him. It's a HUGE thing for me. It's called a random act of kindness and it's the sweetest, most compassionate thing that's happened to me in a long time (not counting family stuff) and it's what this whole world needs a whole lot more of.

So now I must return the favor. Not that I HAVE to... but because I WANT to. And I don't know what to do. Food? A note? Both? Something else? Any suggestions out there?

Somehow... the next two days don't seem near as daunting.