Friends

18 December 2016

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF…. ME


I found a piece of paper which had been pushed through the door. This is what it said:
ODD JOBS?
Need odd jobs doing by a local 19 year old with experience in the area?
Gardening/removals/dog walking and sitting/heavy lifting/no job too big or small!
This was followed by contact numbers, home and mobile, and ended with
DO NOT HESITATE TO GET IN TOUCH WITH ANY ENQUIRIES.

I don’t normally take notice of things pushed through the letterbox and I’m not the sort of person who buys stuff or deals with strangers who call. But this was different, I wasn’t put under pressure by a personal visit, all I had was this note. It was my choice – take it or leave it.
It was the photograph of the lad who was touting for work that decided me and let’s face it all I had to do was phone. Studying the photograph I saw a pleasant young man and mentally praised him for his ingenuity. At least I could see who I was dealing with.
There were one or two things I could get him to do, the first being the removal of autumn leaves which were literally covering paths and lawn in my garden. It was too much for me now that I can no longer bend for longer than two minutes and sweeping up leaves would have my heart pounding in no time.
So, I rang and spoke to the lad. It turned out that he is a student and tries to earn money when he’s not studying. Well, from all accounts and stuff I read in newspapers it is unusual for a young fellow to want work. He said he would come and view the job and then fix a date to do the clearing up.
I must admit I liked what I saw. His name is Luke, good looking and polite and when he did the work he did it well. I have promised to bear him in mind if something else needs doing.
There’s another side to this story and not as pleasing as the above. Garden rubbish is
collected by the council twice a month and I pay for the privilege. Naturally this is a seasonal thing, collections stop in winter. Every week I check on line that I have up to date collection times, and print the information for ease of reference. Luke and I had worked out the exact date when he should do the clearing up job and on the due day the wheelie bin was put out for the men to collect. We have to put our bins out, the collectors don’t walk up the path to collect them.
Except, they didn’t do either.
I checked on line and, yes, I had the right date. What I didn’t know was that THEY had made a mistake. The next time I checked the date had been withdrawn. Now I’m stuck with a wheelie bin full of leaves, too heavy for me to shift. The window cleaner helped out by bringing the bin into the front garden where it will have to stay until next spring.
I was feeling disgruntled about it all but then the phone rang. It was the lady who organises my section of Visiting The Elderly asking if I would like to go to a Rotary Club lunch in a week’s time? Would you believe I said I couldn’t make it – I had checked the diary and realised the chiropodist was coming to deal with my feet!! I realised what I had done as soon as I put the phone down and promptly rang back.
YES, I said I CAN go! To hell with it, I could always change the appointment with the foot man.  
What a way to end the day!

17 comments:

  1. Your "Handy Man/Lad" won't be available for long, I expect there will be bigger things for him soon.

    Bummer about the pick-up mix-up.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a lovely post, Valerie! I got such a great feeling as you were describing the young man who left the note, and was so happy to hear that you went with your gut feelings and decided to hire him for some work. I so admire his drive and ingenuity for trying to get additional work while in school. I have a feeling he's going to be a very successful young man, in whatever he does.

    "YES, I said I CAN go! To hell with it, I could always change the appointment with the foot man. What a way to end the day!"

    LOVED that, and good for you!

    Happy to hear you had a great day!

    Enjoy your Sunday, my friend!

    X

    ReplyDelete
  3. Best thought - 'To hell with it!' I've noticed as I get older, we seem to get nudged into doing things the way the others want them. We ought to be able to change our minds!

    You are so lucky to find a helper! I wish I was so lucky!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have found that I must keep a calendar for all the appointments Mr BC and I have. I also put in other things than just dr appointments, I have been shown how to put the appointments in my phone, but every time I try to put something in with no one to show me, the appointmens don't take, so I am back to using my calendar book.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Ron, you think like me, the young man will definitely far in life. I have a feeling his parents have something to do with it. I am now lining up a few jobs for him to take on in the new year... lucky me!

    ReplyDelete
  6. SJQ you are absolutely right, we do get nudged. I often get the feeling that those who nudge forget we've been there and done that years before they could utter words.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Katie, I too have more than one diary and calendars and best of all the phone. I use the latter for everything except making calls and that's the truth.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Yay! I call it getting our priorities straight. So glad you'll enjoy this nice outing.

    The young man you found to help out sounds like a real gem. There is always uncertainty when hiring someone you don't know. Looks like you found a winner :-)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Carole, you are right with your first comment. With regard to the young man (I must stop calling him a boy) I am in the process of finding things he can do in the near future. I don't want him to lose interest by not having enough to do!

    ReplyDelete
  10. It is rare for young people to want to work to help pay for college, kudos to him. We have a guy that comes around to wash windows for the same reason. He does a great job at a fair price. We need more guys in our life like that :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Kden, I hope I can find enough odd jobs to keep the lad going for a while. I am pretty sure I will. Can't let him slip through my fingers lol.

    ReplyDelete
  12. This is very positive. I hope that Luke will continue to do odd jobs to fund his studies over the coming years. It is so useful to have someone :)who will do odd jobs. As for the dinner - you definitely made the right decision!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Jenny, I too hope Luke will carry on - for my sake as well as his.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Keep that man close Valerie. Wish I could find someone like that. Merry Christmas.
    John

    ReplyDelete
  15. John, you can be assured that I will hang on to him.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Love it that you chose to go with the hell with it and go have a little fun instead. Good for you, Val. Take care and enjoy yourself.

    ReplyDelete

If you're new to A Mixed Bag you might find something to interest you, a bit of mirth, a story or two, or some pictures. I'm so pleased you popped in, do leave a comment if you have time.