One Simple Act

I saw the dry leaves piling up in a corner of my front porch this morning.  Normally, I would just grab the ol' beatup broom from the garage and get to sweeping, but the heavy cane I was grasping in my right hand, reminded me that I was not so mobile.  Oh, heck....I can do this!  Hobbling to the door that exits to the garage, I reached out, pulled it too me and proceeded to the porch.  Hopping off the entrance stoop, I commenced to put the broom under my armpit and began some vigorous strokes!   Said broom handle slipped out of armpit and whacked me in the jaw! Not to be deterred from my mission, I lay my cane across the white wicker rocking chair and steadied myself with the broom handle, placing all my weight over to the right leg, leaving the wretched left knee dangling precariously, knowing that I could put pressure on it but really not wanting too, due to it's sudden action of buckling when I least expect it.  Mission accomplished, maybe not so fastidiously, but accomplished!

 And why pray tell, do I share this with you?  Three neighbors were in their yards, doing what I suppose are the things you do in the fall to get ready for winter, two of which never looked up, one giving me a quick wave before ducking his head back to the business at hand.  14 years of living side by side with these neighbors and not one knew that I had knee surgery.  How sad is that!?  I'm not pointing fingers, I'm just stating a sad, sad fact that during all those years, we did not develop even the slightest of relationships so that we would know when another is in need.  The quick waves as we leave our driveways, the brief exchange of pleasantries on the front lawn once or twice during the summer months leave no room for developing any kind of relationship with our neighbors.

My mind does a free fall back many, many years when we knew almost too much about our
neighbors!  We watched each others kids, we sent hot dishes over if sickness came, we shared secrets,
we helped.  Yes, helped.  How many Saturday mornings if the guys were out doing something in the yard or garage, did one or several of the neighbor guys show up and eventually help finish up a job which would otherwise have taken hours.   How often did my wonderful gal neighbors pop in to help me paint, show me how to sew something when I was stuck, sit down with a cup of tea and listen to each others problems, or just enjoy some warm summer sunshine on the front porch steps?  When did this exchange of neighborliness die out?   Oh, I know there are still those neighborhoods that make it a practice to enjoy each other's company, and that makes me smile, for it brings back that warm  feeling of remembering, being part of something, feeling safe and valued, just simply enjoying life.  But I fear those are the exception to the rule of present day neighbors. 

Yesterdays were slower paced, most mom's didn't work, we jointly watched the neighborhood. There were no computers, Ipods, IPhones,  texting, 100's of TV channels.  Most kids picked a sport or two with very little practices thrown in, no hectic racing from one thing to another, more family time and always time to see if there was one simple act we could do for our neighbor in time of need.  I guess I'd call it 'priorities.'   When we've reached the point where sports, self-interest, down right fatigue come between our committment to attending worship, or youth activities at church, well, it's time to stop the madness.  Even God rested on the seventh day!  Well, I didn't mean to get on a tangent here and include society as a whole.....but to simply remind myself how important it is to slow down, know thy neighbor and never be too busy or preoccupied with self to render 'one simple act' that may cause another some relief, heck maybe even bring a smile!  My daughters showed those simple acts in so many ways,...ways that required no words....just acts of simple love. 

This 'knee thing' brought many well wishes, cards, phone calls, inquiries if they could help with anything,....all nice, all well meaning, but you know what brought tears to my eyes?  A knock on the door, a smiling face and a bag with homemade soup and bread.  No 'pre-plans',  no 'what can I do for you', just a simple act of kindness and a genuine word...."I just wanted to share my soup with you."