A Gift She Couldn't Refuse

When my mother and dad moved to Washington to be near us, their neighbor came to welcome them. Marge brought flowers and homemade bread, and all kinds of nice things over the couple of years they lived next door.

Mother’s reaction was not pleasure. She was suspicious. She was sure Marge just came to talk with my dad, who was a far more social and sociable person than Mother. While I’m sure that Daddy’s warm response helped keep the relationship going, I doubt that Marge’s motivations were at all circumspect.

Gracious receiving was not one of Mother’s better skills. Even when Daddy died, she did not want food brought in or people to come help in any way. One day, however, she had a gift she couldn’t refuse.

There had been a deep snow, a fairly unusual event in her area. Mother, in her seventies, went out to shovel her drive. She was in good health, and she was undaunted by the task for the first few minutes. Just as it was becoming clear to her what a hard job she’d taken on, a car pulled up. It had just driven past moments before from the opposite direction. A woman and her daughter who lived in the same subdivision had seen Mother struggling and had gone home for their snow shovels. Without asking for permission, they pitched in and got the job done.

Mother was truly amazed. “They were total strangers,” she said. “They were so nice, and they just wanted to help.” She shook her head in wonder.