My neighbor is a paramedic. He and his wife are some of the nicest people I have ever met. A few years back we started this sort of “favor war” where one of us would do something for the other, such as shovel their driveway or help them build a shed, and next time the other would try to top it with another favor. Yesterday morning there was about 2 or 3 feet of snow on the ground (we live in a northern Ontario town so this is typical) and I remembered he shoveled my driveway for me last snowfall. So I bust out my shovel and take care of both our sidewalks and driveways because it was my turn to do a favor back. It takes a while but I finish and get into my car for work. What I didn’t realize was that he had to work that day too.
Fast forward to this morning I get a knock on my door; it’s him. He immediately shakes my hand and informs me that because I shoveled his driveway and sidewalk, he was able to get to work earlier. As soon as he started his shift a call came through that a young boy was in a medical emergency. Luckily, he and his partner were only about 2 minutes away, and the next closest ambulance was 10 minutes away. This kid did not have 10 minutes; he barely had 2 minutes. Because my neighbor got to work sooner a young boy gets to live his life.
This isn’t a humble brag; this is to inform others that even the smallest favors can have the biggest impact. It wasn’t too much of a hassle to shovel his driveway for him, but because I did, a young boy gets to see his family again; go back to school again; talk to his friends again, and live his life. No favor is too small. Bless your souls everyone and have a lovely day.
