And my lawnmower not working really wasn't so bad. I hauled it out of the garage (covered in leaves that had blown in during the winter) and had it lined up and ready to tackle some serious weeds that had sprung up in our most recent storm when I discovered that not much was going to happen in terms of lawn care today. I was tugging at the starter with a growing sense of doom when I heard the lawnmower of my neighbor two doors down turn off. "Uh, oh," I thought, knowing that my sweet elderly neighbor was making his way over to my yard to help. I hadn't showered yet, wasn't wearing a bra, and had snot on at least one part of my shirt - I was kind of hoping I could mow the lawn in relative obscurity and then rectify my appearance. Kind Brother Potts arrived at my shoulder and wanted to lend a hand. And he did just that! In a matter of minutes he had starter fluid and a wrench out on the sidewalk and was kneeling down, twisting off the spark plug and examining the gas tank with careful and almost frail movements that reminded me rather painfully of his age. Once he sprayed the spark plug and twisted it back into the mower, I pulled on the starter and we would hear one of two things - either a brief sputter of life and then silence, or nothing. "Let's take a look at your filter," he suggested, expertly removed what I had never realized was the filter and nodded his head appraisingly. "That is pretty dirty!" Wanting to be of some use, I asked in what was still a very raspy and faint voice (I hate colds), "Could I just rinse it off with my hose?" Brother Potts shook his head and stood up slowly. "No, I think I'll clean it out with my air hose." He turned and began making his way to his garage, leaving me standing there feeling a bit silly and very grateful.
When Kenny and I attended the family ward, we would always see Brother Potts and his wife in Sunday School and in sacrament meeting, but we never really got to chat. From the spring through the early fall, we would often pass by their home on the way to the grocery store, on a walk, or rollerblading to the park, and wave to them as they sat out on their porch with friends. They always had a smile and a hello for us. As I stood next to my defunct lawn mower, my heart was near to bursting with gratitude for this gentle and sweet man who took time from grooming his impeccable lawn to come and help a girl struggling to start her lawn mower. Brother Potts came back with a clean filter and gingerly knelt to the ground to replace it. He gave the spark plug another spray of starter fluid and screwed it back into the mower, than stood up to join me in a final try at getting the motor humming. Self-consciously, I tugged on the starter as Brother Potts held down the throttle. Alas! Our efforts proved futile, at least as far as the mower was concerned. But as we laughed together over the questionable state of the mower and how everything tends to end up that day when you rent a house, I thought Brother Potts' offer of help was brilliant. Finally I was able to step out of my shyness and passing hellos from the other side of the fence to a warm friendship that our two families could share.
A few days later I discovered a rather neglected push mower at the back of the garage and attacked the half-foot-tall grass threatening to overtake my yard, then tiptoed through my neighbors' gate to leave a pot of daffodils and a note of thanks on the front porch. The next evening, as I turned into my driveway, Brother and Sister Potts and their friends all waved an enthusiastic and smiling hello. I hope my landlord's don't fix our lawn mower too soon!
The Orem Public Library welcomes spring:
Frothy pink blossoms fill an early spring sky:
Magnolia blossoms welcome bibliophiles to the library:
Brilliant green leaves banish the winter outside my office:
2 comments:
SPRING!!! I cannot resist watching spring spread across Utah valley--especially in that little nook beneath Mt. Timpanogos where our beloved business park is located. Totally gorgeous. I'll bet you can't wait to eat outside on that cool little patio--say hello to our favorite homeless kitties for me!
these pictures are so beautiful!
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