Good Grief!!

Our super neighbors have struck again! I think I mentioned in our last post about the garden and such that our neighbors to the south of us, specifically Tom and his son Chris who lives 2 doors down, have been taking care of our lawn since it started growing this spring. We tried to pay them, tell them we can do it, though we haven't exactly procured a lawn mower yet. Mike's usually working or asleep when all this happens, and in my current condition, aka that of a whale, haven't felt like I could go try and take over the mower.

Finally, today, Mike was home and awake, and we heard the roar of Tom's mower. Mike jumped up and leaving a pleading son behind, who really wanted to go help Daddy and Mr. Tom, and went to see what kind of partnership Tom was willing to deal. I placated Milo, explaining that when he got a little big, Daddy would definitely let him help mow the lawn. Mike took over on the push mower, and Tom went to get the riding mower. And Milo and I sat on the deck, Milo shouting encouraging things and checking to see how everyone was feeling today. Seems like all was working quite nicely, hopefully cutting Tom's time down, and Mike gratefully participating. After all the major mowing was done, Tom pulled up and asked discreetly if Milo would like to take a ride, and I only grinned. Milo, do you want to take a ride on Mr. Tom's tractor? YEAH!! Yes please? YES PLEASE!!! And away they went, around and around, to the front yard and back plenty of times. Tom even let Milo steer for a bit, and every time they rounded the house, Milo's face about busted with the huge grin plastered on it.

Thanks, Tom. Thanks for being so humbly helpful, for making us feel like part of your family, and for loving our kid like he's your own grandson!

Friday the 13th...

Tomorrow is Mike's birthday. He's a tricky one because he's not really a gift person, and I love to give gifts. Not that he doesn't appreciate them, it's just not what really gets to him. Plus this year, he really wanted a new grill, so we splurged on a really nice one, and we're calling that his birthday present, though arguably we're all going to benefit profusely from his birthday present.

And though I'd love to take Milo shopping and have him pick something out for Mike, as you'll see, his tastes are very limited and a bit selfishly motivated. So Mike, this post is for you.

We've had our ups and our downs, but the past few months have been great. Maybe it's the new baby, maybe it's your new job and the new location, I don't know, but you've shown yourself well. You do all the ugly jobs that I really don't want to do, the trash, the cat box, cleaning out the tube on the vacuum when it gets clogged. You change nasty diapers without batting an eye, well you do inform me how many wipes it required, but that's a helpful measuring tool :) You don't make me feel bad when I snore so loud that you don't get your nap. You're working so hard at your job, making sure we're taken care of, you're taking better care of yourself than you ever have, making sure we'll be taken care of for a very long time. And our kid becomes more and more enamored with you with each passing day. Yeah, he's a momma's boy, but daddy's more fun, more likely to get down and play, more likely to be suckered into giving him what he wants, but still snuggly.

This one's for you, Daddy. We love you.

If this is southern hospitality...

When we moved into our rental house in NC in November, we were immediately welcomed by all our neighbors. Literally within moments of the moving van pulling into the driveway, we had Roger from across the street over to say hi and introduce himself. Following within the next few hours were Ethelyn who lives next door, her son Chris who lives two houses down, Sue and Dave who live across the street, and Ned from next door on the other side made friends with my mom, giving her helpful hints with the crazy roads in our town.

And really it hasn't changed. Periodically, Sue comes over with a new batch of books that her daughter has found or cleaned out, always perfect for Milo. Roger's family, his wife Norita and their daughter Marcie always watch out for us when we're gone, pulling our garbage cans back or helping us figure out the recycling schedule. Ethelyn and Tom, who watch their grandson Christian who's just a little older than Milo, come find us on a regular basis, show us great parks, take us to the best Christmas lights, bring me cut flowers from their lawn, and invite and escort us to their church functions. And Ned and his wife Lisa, who put up quite the impressive Christmas light display, are a wealth of information on the area, BBQs, and all-around nice folks who love on Milo like nobody's business. And both Ned & Lisa and Tom & Ethelyn have seriously talked to us about being back-up plans for us if I go into labor early to take care of Milo. The crazy thing is, I know they're serious. We've known these people about 5 months, and they want to be our "family" when we expand in the next couple of weeks.

But the ante has been upped. I'm not sure if they're all taking pity on us because I'm getting so huge or because of Mike's crazy work schedule, but I have been flabbergasted a few times recently by their generosity and giving. Tom from next door has now taken to mowing our lawn, which usually also includes blowing off our driveway and front steps. And he just waves it off whenever we try to thank him, though he has taken a few frosty ones from Mike; Mike's gone with Tom and Chris to their church's Pub Ministry a couple of times :) Ethelyn and Tom also took Milo, along with their 2 grandkids to the park one morning when I had a doctor's appointment. Then Ethelyn shows up the other day with this perfect mint plant, telling me that hers is growing out of control and would I please take some.

In and amongst this, Ned shows up one afternoon offering to use his rototill to get us a little garden going, saying that a few years back, one of the families that lived in this house had one over by the deck. I tried to say not to worry about us, but he was very persuasive, and deep down, I think he knew I wanted it. So he convinced me, and about 10 minutes later he's got a couple of rows plowed for us. I chatted with him for a bit about what we might try to grow, and what Milo and I had some success with in Toledo. And then I thanked him profusely. This weekend, Ned, Lisa, and their 2 adult daughters were out planting their gardens, and Lisa yells over the fence that they'll be over to plant ours in a few minutes. What?!? They start to tell me that they got a better deal on their plants by buying a few extra for us! Ned even remembered what kind of tomatoes I said that I liked! So the four of them came over and planted our garden for us, even working with Milo a bit to get him in the dirt. Then Lisa disappears for a minute and comes back with this pig watering can for Milo, which is now one of his favorite things, and he pretty much wants to water anything and everything every day with it.

Kate and I frequently joke that our main motivating emotion in life is guilt, and I have to admit, I do feel guilty. Guilty that I have hardly anything to offer these beautiful people. Guilty that maybe I'm not grateful enough. Guilty for taking so much generosity. And yet they keep on giving, saying things like they're glad that we're here; apparently the last few renters haven't been the cream of the crop, but not like Mike and I are so fantastic, we're just not criminals :) I guess this is one of those times when I'll have to follow some more good advice from sweet Amy J, "take what you need, give what you can," and just find some ways to give back to these marvelously generous people.