Pay It Forward :o)

After a long week, we watched the "Warriors" DVD (go to Nutwood Junction for details), then Letterman, and Craig Ferguson on Late Night [I think it was just great to unwind a little].  Late to bed, and then a mid-morning wake-up, the simple life is soooo good!  Hope you had a great Friday and a lazy Saturday morning :o)

I then headed off to get a hair cut (actually all of them :o).  Then hooked up the trailer to "Blue", for a trip to my beloved in-laws.  The trailer purpose was two-fold. First, it was loaded with the remnants of our split rail fence that I took down a couple of weeks ago.  When Mom heard that we were taking it down, she expressed a desire to have the fence for use in her back yard.  What a cool way to recycle, so when I took it down, I loaded it into the trailer.  Second, they are doing some cleanup around their church, and need a good sized trailer to haul away the debris and garbage.  Any time we can do something to help them, we do!

One thing I can always count on my Mother-In-Law for is for us to never go hungry :o)  After she fed us a sandwich and some cheesecake, we sat down to chat.  My In-Laws, Mom and Dad, are simply wonderful people, and have embraced me into their family as one of their own.  As we were sitting talking today, we expressed thanks for their recent gift to us, which allowed us to pay off our second mortgage.  I then explained that while we were visiting my folks in Springfield, Missouri over Mother's Day, we were able to "Pay It Forward".  They were very pleased, and we know that being able to show tangible results was special to them.

My folks (my Mom and Step dad) had to declare bankruptcy due to medical bills about three years ago.  They moved to Oregon for a few years to be near some family, but it did not work out the way they had hoped - so last year they moved back to Missouri (I flew out and drove back the U-Haul).  Shortly after they moved back, my Step dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer, and he has recently completed his treatments.  What a blessing that they were near family that could support them, and in a community that has wonderful medical care.  Anyhoo (that was for you Beth), they had some credit card debt that was previously at +20%, and they were consolidating using some new Mastercard checks at 8.99%, a huge savings.  Their moving and medical expenses seem to be behind them, and they are trying to get ahead a little.  So Beth and I discussed the situation when we went to run a few errands (have I mentioned what an awesome team we are because we think alike and make all decisions together), and then I went into "Kengineer" mode.  I sat down with a blank piece of paper  and a calculator, and asked them questions regarding the situation.  To cut to the chase, we convinced them to let us pay off their two outstanding credit card debts, and they could pay us back at 5%, a win-win since that is better than I get in my savings account, and it saves them an additional 4%and eliminates the possibility of the rates changing for them.  We would have charged zero, but we knew that in order to convince them to let us help, we had to sell it as beneficial to us both.  After we were done, you could just see the heaviness lift from their shoulders, and we had a very enjoyable evening.

 

After our chat, the sun started to shine again, and we headed out to the porch.  Dad and I walked around back to look at their pond, and then commenced to hike around their 15 acres.  I think we spent a good hour walking and talking, enjoying the wonders of nature, talking about both of our properties and how when you are content, it is easy to live a simple life.  He has been retired for 30 years, and has really had a chance to be a part of other peoples lives in a very positive manner.  He commented on how lucky Beth and I are to have so much in common, and to love our little sanctuary here at Nutwood Junction.  I know we both really appreciated this chance to bond. 

After our visit, we decided to take the backroads home, and it was so nice to be reminded of how rural most of our area really is.  As we kept heading North and East to get back to our spread, we chanced upon the building to the left.  As you can see in the background, this is out in the middle of no-where, sitting on the corner of a farm field.  This building was from 1885, labeled as part of Polk Township, and even though it is deteriorated, it has not yet been torn down. 

I know that as we continue our life journey together, Beth and I will continue to live the simple life, to enjoy the wonders of nature, to marvel at our history and reminisce (we discussed whether this building was a school house or a public building) about how people used to live.  Just as important, as we pass houses and glimpse a sliver of everyday life, ask ourselves how we can make a difference, to Pay Forward the kindness and grace we receive from others.  

 

Share a smile, a kind word, or a good deed with another, and Pay if Forward as often as you can :o)

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