Pay it forward

Last weekend I went to help a co-worker with her lawn. Calling it overgrown would be like calling Los Angeles "crowded." Upon seeing the yard, I debated whether a machete or a scythe would be the appropriate implement.

She has a son. I don't know if she forced him to help me or if he just felt compelled to come out and work alongside me- but he spent the entire time working on the lawn with me. Several times he said things like, "I don't know how you got roped into doing this," or "how did my Mom con you into this?" What I felt like saying was because you and your mom deserve to be loved. But since I didn't know the kid and I didn't want to create any misunderstandings I settled for a sheepish: "Well...it needed to be done."

We ended up spending about 5 hours hacking, whacking, mowing, bagging, and running from wasps. We destroyed more than 10 nests- and those were only the nests we could visibly see. I know there were many more that were unseen in the brush.  I HATE wasps. Is there any creature that has a more menacing appearance? There is something even more daunting about maniacal, suicidal bees.

At work yesterday she told me something funny happened. She came home from work and her son had mowed their front yard (this is usual). He also went on to mow their neighbor's yard! This is unusual behavior for this kid and so she asked him why he mowed the neighbor's yard. His response made my heart happy- she reported he told her: "It needed to be done."