u/Procrastinating___

I have a big wooden pallet from a delivery that needs to go to the tip but it wont fit in my car. This morning I asked my neighbour (lived next door for about 6 years and we mostly just say hello in passing - houses are quite close together) if they might have some form of power saw I could borrow to cut it in half as I didn't fancy hand sawing it in the heat. I talked to the wife and she said "Dave's got a chainsaw - I'll send him round"

Dave, who is probably in his late 60s arrived about 0.02 seconds later, in shorts, no shirt with a full size petrol chainsaw and a big smile. Never mind just cutting it in half - he sawed the shit out of that pallet until it was in about 20 pieces and he was grinning the whole time.

Now truthfully, it would have been much easier to handle if it had just been cut in half as now I'm going to have to put the bits in something to transport them, but seeing his joy at getting to wield the chainsaw made it worth it. I remarked on how much he seemed to enjoy doing it and he laughed and sort of swaggered off back next door....

Absolutely made my morning!

Many years ago, I smashed up my lumbar spine in an argument with a horse and a gatepost that the post most definitely won. I had no paralysis but have spent the last 37 years with some form of backache. Now I'm 60 its really catching up with me - I use a wheeled walker if I have to go anywhere further than a few steps and got a blue badge last year as I'm just not very stable (physically - mentally is another matter!)

Having always been an independent, get-on-with-it type of woman, I tend to tackle things head on and get it done, such as teaching myself basic bricklaying to make a patio extension and raised beds in the garden over the last few years. But this year is so bloody frustrating as everything is getting so much harder and painful and I'm getting slower and there's some things I just can't do anymore. But I want to get on with it anyway and if it takes me much longer and I have to sit down a lot - so be it.

So, planning some paving to finish off, I have been to B & Q twice this week to get sand and cement (I can sort of flump the bags off the pile onto the trolley) and both times another customer has offered to help get the bags into the car for me. On Tuesday night it was a guy waiting to collect his order who helped me and asked if I had help when I got home . And this morning it was another nice customer who was walking in to the store as I was coming out and turned round and came back to offer to help. And both of them also put the massive trolley I was using away too without asking.

I know its not much, but I just wanted to shout out about the many kind people out there who just automatically wanted to help out without being asked. It restores my faith in society (I work with the public - nuff said!) and lessened the frustrations just a little bit, so its a win.