Even though I grew up in the hot tropics, I love winter and have lately been missing it. So obviously I was excited about the snow last night. I ventured out this morning to shovel the sidewalk in front of 294 Sumner (Eastie Farm’s first site — we have been shoveling it since .
On the way, at the Church of Our Lady of The Assumption, I found Father Ignatius shoveling the sidewalk. To my surprise, he recognized me from the time when Sue, Adriana, and I brought environmental board games as Christmas gifts on Christmas Day in 2020, when we were all confined to our homes and the games were off-screen fun for the whole family (with some education built in :)).
Father Ignatius was just getting started and there was a ton of shoveling to do (The church has a loooooooong sidewalk). And he was doing it all on his own. I decided to give him a hand. We had fun shoveling together. It’s true what they say: Many hands make light work.
Shoveling wet snow can be exhausting. And when people’s heavy boots have compacted some of it, it can be even harder. I was a bit tired after 20 minutes of intense work. But we did clear the sidewalk together and we were both convinced people should be able to pass safely. So I went on to my final destination.
That’s when I got a pleasant surprise. 294 Sumner sidewalk was already shoveled! I was reminded of a proverb in my mother tongue: If you feed a stranger’s child, your child will be fed wherever they may be. Someone did for Eastie Farm what I did for the Church of Our Lady of Assumption.
Feeling the love of the community I live in, and inspired by the strength that stems from that love.
