Helpin' and Hollerin' in the Neighborhood

Hello to our new and faithful followers of the ABCs of Kindness.

This is the week of H.

Last night as I returned home from work at a relatively late hour, I saw my neighbor was getting out of her car.  She said, "Hi Kim" before I got my evening greeting out of my mouth.  I said a hearty "hello" back and then quickly hollered out, "Hey, I was wondering... when your grass gets to be like it is now, with all our rain etc, would you like me to cut it?  I really do like mowing the lawn!"  By now we'd met in the puddle filled street.  She was petting Rowdy. (You followers now know him.  For those of you who don't, check out www.abcofkindness.blogspot.com Engage and Express entry)  She smiled and said, "Absolutely and I'll make a trade with you for something else."  I said, "No no, really I'd like to do it but did not want to mow if you had bigger plans, like baling hay or something."  We laughed, chatted a bit more about stuff and headed our separate ways.

This morning when I awoke I saw the weather was clear enough (we've had tons of rain).  As I left for the morning walk with the dog I planned to return and mow that lawn.  It would take all of 15 minutes.  I was excited to help out and be outside before heading to work.  As the 30 minute walk came to an end I rounded the corner and to my great dismay a landscaping pair was packing up their mowers and rakes after having completed "my" job.  I was very sad to not be able to help.  It was the topic of today's blog.  It was all planned out.

Then I chuckled to myself and thought, "See, that just goes to show that one can not predict the future...gotta go with the flow."  I do not believe my neighbor knew that the guys were coming by to mow.  They don't always work on their yard.  Her husband must have known his limitations with time etc. and took care of lining up the guys to help out.  I certainly don't know but I can imagine that as a possibility.  Also, neither my neighbor nor I knew last night that I was contemplating mowing today and that the mowing might be woven into this blog.

So for the blog I was left thinking... How do I help out my neighbors?  What acts of kindness do I extend in the hood?  And what can I continue to do?  Friendly Hellos, like the one last night and the one with another neighbor and his little dog this morning;  bringing in the trash cans and recycle bins from the road for the next door neighbors;  hanging with the 5 year old from next door and letting her pick flowers from the garden.  All of these acts have taken place this week.  I just did not get to mow that lawn!

I plan to keep hollerin' out and helpin' when I can, in the neighborhood.