It's A God Thing, In More Ways Than One

We had to have a tree cut down today because it had suffered an 'injury' some time ago, long before we moved here. Seems tha the trunk isn't connected to the roots anymore. It is just kinda hanging there...kinda like a really loose tooth that should have been pulled a long time ago. Our favorite 'tree man' Jim came by to check it out and give us a price to take it down. By the time that he checked out the tree, you could put you hand in behind the injured part. After some discussion, Jim and I decided that I should probably check the guys that were working on trees in Skyler's yard. The guys came up and stood in the neighbors driveway and studied and studied the tree from several angles. I explained to them that I needed to have the tree taken down for as cheaply as I could. If they could just get it on the ground, Mark and I could do the rest with our little chainsaw and little chipper. Those guys came up with a price that was unbelievable...$250. I think. I know that they were being very generous. So we agreed that when they finished down at Skyler's they would come up to our yard...cut the top out and chip it up, then just cut the rest of the tree down and leave it in 3-4 foot sections. So today they showed up. It was an awful day...rain, cold and windy. My neighbors on the right gave them permission to bring the big truck in their driveway. The guys had a big bucket that they used to get to the very tops of the trees. It seems a lot safer than climbing the tree with a chainsaw strapped to your back, the way Jim does it. Allyson and I went to Sarah's room to look out the window and to take some pictures. I pulled the top of the window down so I could get some shots of the guy in the bucket cutting limbs. Just about the time I got the window and screen down a squirrels nest was coming at me in pieces. One squirrel jumped out and another one came out of nowhere and was screaming at the guy in the bucket. I ran downstairs and fast as I could and found a basket for the babies to go in...I know I heard babies...but there were no babies. The corner of the house is going to have so much more sun. We might even have to figure out some different flowers on that corner. Now I can see Michael when he gets off the school bus.
I think Mark and I have our work cut out for us these next few days. We will be cutting and stacking this wood in the backyard for the campfire. The wood is supposed to be good to burn now...it is ash...it doesn't need to season. It is great to have the tree down, not to have to worry about having it come thru the roof in the middle of the night. The most amazing part happened when the guys were getting ready to leave. We had a house full of people...Miss Renee, Emmy and her three girls, Emmy and Casie's dog, Riley, Allyson, Ella and me...when the doorbell rang for some reason we all went to the door. The guy that was in the bucket all day came to tell me that they were finished. We made some small talk about all the wood that we had to burn. Then I told him that I had to go get the money and he told me that it had already been taken care of. I said what? And he told me that one of my neighbors had already taken care of paying them. When I asked him who it was, so I could thank them, he told me that he had been sworn to secrecy. All I could do was grab the door and cry. You have no idea how that made me feel. I was honored to think that one of our neighbors thought that much of us, that they would take that burden away. They know that the next few months are going to be challenging. That buy paying, they were carrying a little bit of our burden. I felt so humbled. So honored. So this weekend I will be baking cookies for the entire neighborhood. And I am going to once again, Pay It Forward. I have always said that I have the best neighbors in the world. Now you know that to be true!