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A few weeks ago neighbour kids came and told me they were starting a gardening business and could they mow my lawn. I gave them an enthusiastic yes since I hate mowing the lawn and I never get around to it until it’s 6 feet high
Kids proceeded to quote me a ridiculously low price. I doubled said price and off they went. Their dad came and gave them a bit of direction and then did the edges with the whipper snipper.
Kid 1 said he was 11 and kid 2 said he was 12. Kid 1 went home to get more petrol and I got chatting to kid 2 whilst he waited. I said I’d really like for them to do the lawns every couple of weeks and he then furrowed his brow
And started working out the timing. Kid 2 said kid 1 was actually his step brother and that the dad was kid 2’s step dad. So, he explained, they were only together every second weekend
Being someone who has lived the alternate weekend for a long time I said no problem at all, just come and do it whenever you’re both available. I then asked kid 2 if he sees his dad on weekends. Kid 2 looked at me and said
“Sadly, my dad passed away”. As I choked back the tears kid 2 spoke with great admiration about his dad who he said had been a brilliant sportsman who could have gone to the olympics. I told him his dad sounded like a pretty great guy and
Kid 2 beamed. He then told me about all the sports he plays and I said gosh it sounds like you take after your dad. He beamed again. Kid 1 then came back and they finished the job whilst I went inside and sobbed at the injustice of a
12 year old boy having lost the dad that he so clearly adored. They did a brilliant job and were very pleased with their cash. I said they have a regular gig if they wanted it
Inspired by these kids I’ve been doing a bit more garden work and that’s how I noticed the back gate was broken, hanging by one hinge. I can’t fix stuff like that so I left it. I figured I’d
Sort something out after the corona madness passes.
Kids came back and did the garden again, dad did the hedges and I left their money in the letterbox for social distancing reasons. Today I’ve been in the
Garden again and gate is working perfectly. Took me a minute to figure out whether I’d completely lost my marbles and imagined it had been broken but then I realised neighbour kids and/or the dad must have fixed
It for me. Just did it. No questions, no request for extra cash. And now I want to cry again for the simple kindness they did me. Might sound silly but it really means a lot to me. Anyway, there are good people and that’s my story for today #peace
