A Simple Act of Kindness

Ever since my children brought home these quarter sized turtles, they have been researching red eared sliders. They have found out about their eating habits, how to tell if they are male or female, how to build a suitable outdoor habitat, their life expectancy and breeding habits.

My husband and I agreed that they could section off a portion of the backyard to serve as a turtle habitat. This threw the children into a frenzy of measuring, using lots of graph paper, counting money, adding up costs, and planning their outdoor herpatorium.

They decided, after looking at what was suitable for other man made red eared slider habitats, that they should buy a wading pool and bury it to ground level, since these turtles are aquatic.

So, my son and I went to Wal Mart today to buy the pool. We decided on one of the bigger ones, since it is recommended that the turtles have plenty of room for diving. After paying for it, we lugged it to the parking lot. The closer we got to our Suburban, though, the more I had a feeling that there was no way that thing would fit in there.

Sure enough, we stuffed and nudged, pulled and poked, all to no avail. Just as I was considering what to do next, a yound lady pulled up in a pick up truck and asked if we needed help. I told her thank you, but I really didn't think we were going to get it to fit. Then, she offered to put it in her truck and follow me home.

I had the sudden image of her speeding off with our pool and laughing the whole way, but since I didn't have any better ideas, I agreed. She followed me home and even unloaded the pool before I could get out to help her. I had found seven dollars in my purse and gratefully offered it to her along with a cold drink. She said, no thank you, that she had to rush off before she was late to work.

This is just one simple example of how a busy young lady took time to help her neighbor. She made our day and encouraged me to look around to see how I might help a neighbor today.