one day
at the beginning of this long winter
a sweet kid not more than 14 years old
showed up at my front door
shovel in hand
wearing sweatshirt and gloves
quiet and polite
asking if i wanted to hire him
yes!
without a moment’s hesitation
soon he was at work
clearing my walks, my driveway, my porch
he charged me a very fair rate
looking to make some cash before christmas
lives with his mom
in an apartment nearby
i know nothing else about him
except that he works very hard
often appears without warning
just in time
to clear my path and then
is gone again as soon as he’s finished his work
i’ve no way to contact him
sometimes i see his steps and shovel marks
signs that he’s stopped over
but our timing was off
and now
on this weekend
with the long days of deep snow
he’s nowhere to be found
oh, where, oh, where,
is the kid with the shovel?
and so
i am paying myself
getting a free workout
day after day
i’m sure i’ll see him again
maybe when it’s time
to move dirt
for the gardens.
—
“never doubt the power of love or one woman with a shovel.”
-carrie newcomer
Hope he’s okay
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yes, me too.
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I wonder whether he’s gone to college or got a job away from your area. We hope he’s well anyway.
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he’s definitely too young for college, but perhaps is with his father somewhere, or has too much business to make his way to my house –
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That’s good to know. I was concerned and I live thousand of miles away !!! Shows how silly I am 😦
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very kind of you to be concerned. c’mon over, peter. i have a shovel just waiting for you )
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hahaha 🙂
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Truly an angel sent by heaven… but sometimes we need to be our own angels. I heard of the big amounts of snow in parts of the US.
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yes, absolutely – and that is where my workout comes in )
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You see the signs and follow them 😄
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Mateo has landed but the kid with the shovel has not yet cleared his way to your house, Beth. I’m thinking he’s working his way toward the yellow cottage. Be safe and sound, my friend.
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no worries, just always happy to see him and support his work ethic – a win-win )
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Power blogs today! Yes!
I love a kid like that.
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yes, yours too! on the same power page. yes, i like a person of any age who works hard and finds a way –
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It’s inspiring!!
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More or less looks like what it does here regarding snow. High time Spring got here! Good luck with that shovel!! 🤗
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yes, yes and my shovel and i are working well together –
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Hi:) please check my blogs out – excellent blog by the way 🙂
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it’s beautiful, i stopped over for a visit )
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If you do find him again. tell him I need him.
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i’ll be sure to send him your way –
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I love the mystery of this boy! You need to write a YA novel about him!
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me too – and hopefully i’ll see him again
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Awwww
>
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yes, a very sweet kid –
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Hope you find but until then I guess you will have the workout. Maybe by next winter you can have a line on him and have him at your house for the times when it snows so you won’t have such a hard workout. ❤
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no worries, it makes me stronger, but sure would like to hire him again –
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I bet there sure is a lot of shoveling going on up there right now. LOL
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oh, yes!
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I enjoyed your story and the quote beneath it. A perfect pairing.
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thank you so much, russ –
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Two kids stopped by here last Wednesday, before sunup, quite young. Security cams at homes along the street recorded their progress. Great work ethic to get up so early and hurry along. Unfortunately they were ransacking all the unlocked cars on the block (trusting neighborhood). When they finished, they headed over to the local shopping plaza and did the same (more security cams).
Hopefully someone, at some point, whether they are apprehended or not, will help them redirect their enterprising natures into good works.
When shoveling, (of course you know this), take frequent breaks and always listen to your body and follow its advice. (https://www.metrohealth.org/shoveling-and-your-risk-for-heart-attack)
Cheers.
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yes, hopefully they can use their energy in some better way –
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I hope you find him. He sounds like a treasure.
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i hope so, too –
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Wow. You got a lot of snow!
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bam!
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This felt so beautiful reading 🙂
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thank you so much )
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You are very welcome.
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Hm…hope the little dude is ok…..
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me too, lucie )
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