Friday, September 4

[gottawonder]

Today I am grateful for:

My strong body. I answered another ad on the local buy and sell to help a guy with severe breathing issues clean out his basement. It was a serious workout to haul boxes from his basement up a set of stairs, then out to his garage. I was actually pretty impressed with myself.

It doesn't seem like a lot of money for that kind of work, but it is unskilled. I also did feel like it was doing him a good deed. He really couldn't have moved that stuff out himself. He was very short of breath just directing me. There's a lot going on there. He's looking at a lung transplant (yay Canadian healthcare system), or possibly death, and he and his wife live in this acreage with 9 dogs left over from a breeding program, a very run down house in the middle of renovations he can't finish, and a giant garage full of shit that they need to get rid of. He's trying to get his wife to understand the situation and get rid of everything and prepare to move to something much smaller like a condo, and she's in denial I think.

He was very happy with our work today, and he's going to get me to come out and help again once he's organized.

His adult daughter gave me several boxes of books that I admired out loud (I had overheard them saying they would likely throw them out, and said I would give them a home). I would read some, and then others I will take for trade in, and some got damp and I will toss them.

It was a physically tough day, but oddly rewarding, and I like the guy I was helping. I felt like it mattered to him to get something done, and I helped him do that.

I then went to town and got groceries, which USED to be my big task! It seemed like a relaxing event, after hauling boxes out of a basement.

I'm grateful for my strong body. I'm grateful that I am adamant about keeping the yard clean. I am grateful on behalf of my dog that she doesn't have to live her whole life in a small yard (the leftover breeding dogs don't look like they get out much, or handled. They're in good shape, they look cared for, but sort of left to their own devices. Not really pets.).