We were walloped with our first good snowstorm of the winter yesterday. Although I’m not as crazy about going out in the snow as I used to be, I still love a good snowstorm. We had everything we needed, our house was cozy and warm, and my husband was released early from work so he could beat the worst of the weather. When all was said and done this morning, it looked like we had received a good couple of feet. Fortunately we were spared the high winds and power outages that were predicted along with the storm, and hubby set off for work this morning after shoveling his way out of the driveway.
Of course no shoveling job lasts for very long with the snowplows out and about. I usually say that the surest way to have the snowplow take care of your street is to start shoveling; it won’t be long before the plow dumps a nice pile of snow at the end of the driveway. I woke up this morning to find a wall of snow at the end of our drive. It had to have been two feet tall at least. I was planning to spend naptime shoveling, but hubby assured me that he would take care of it when he got home. Although I would’t have minded putting in the effort, truth be told I hadn’t slept well last night, and was up early. I needed some rest.
I put Mr. Boy down for a nap and was about to lay down myself when I heard a loud knock at the door. We have been inundated with various solicitors lately, and I will not answer the door for strangers during the day. I crept to a window to see who was at the door and glimpsed a young guy with pink hair. He knocked again, loudly. I figured he was yet another college student trying to make a buck by having us fill out a survey or getting us to sign up for something we didn’t need. Since I didn’t have any idea who he was and didn’t have hubby in the house, I ignored him. He finally stepped away from the door, and I noticed that he had a snow shovel. “Oh, he must be trying to make money from shoveling,” I thought, assuming he would move on to the next house to try his luck there.
But instead, he did something I didn’t expect. He set his two cans of energy drink into a snowbank, walked to the end of our driveway, and started shoveling. “Maybe he’s just clearing a little path for some reason?” I thought. He proceeded to shovel the entire snowbank away, in a matter of minutes. He had to work hard, too. The snowbanks along the road and sidewalk were already several feet high. I watched as he lifted the heavy snow and flung it as far as he could. I figured he would be on his way once he had finished with the snowbank, but instead he continued shoveling. He cleared the leftover patches of snow in the driveway, and widened the area around my car. Then, he left our shovel back where he had found it, picked up his energy drinks, and headed off down the street.
I don’t know if he was volunteering for school, or performing required community service. All I know is that he worked awfully hard doing a job that wouldn’t have been easy for me, and he went above and beyond to do it well. I wanted to go out and pay him with money I didn’t have, or give him hot cocoa and cookies (that I didn’t have, either). Most of all I wanted to go out and give him a big hug.
Being a young mommy at home alone with my toddler, I didn’t do any of those things for a strapping young guy with pink hair and an energy drink habit who I didn’t know. But I did take a moment to ask God to bless him for his hard work. I hope somehow he realizes how much it meant to me.
Thank you, whoever you are!
