Mysteries…

Last week, Pepper had a late meeting, we did not leave until almost 5 and then ran out for a quick dinner before we needed to be back to the school for the open house. When I got back, just after 5:30…. there was candy on my desk. It said, “Happy Easter! Thanks for all you do!!” The message was typed. It was not signed. I thought about who was in the building that could have put it there.

I really hate this sort of thing. I love that someone appreciates whatever it is I did for them but I really want to know the “w.h.-“…. Who, what, why…. So, I started asking around to try to narrow down who might have put this on my desk. I checked the desks of other members of my team…. No one had a similar treat. I checked with the teachers I knew had hung around late that day, with the principal, secretary, people I knew I did nice things for that might have shown this appreciation. I even asked people that I figured would not have left anything for me. No one said they put the treat on my desk.

At home, the boys and I have been working on our fallen tree. We’ve gotten all the roots and big branches moved and we’ve started trying to move the dirt from around some of the still connected roots. It is a huge job. Even with all the help from Uncle K last fall…. It is more than we could handle. I started calling around to places to find out about trunk removal. I got estimates…. Most were around the $450 range. Ugh. That is pretty much all the money Pepper and I made teaching an after-school program. Uncle K mentioned a friend of his that might do it for less. I called and left a message for him and said what I needed and to give me an estimate. The next day when I got home the trunk was gone and the hole was filled with dirt. I called Uncle K’s friend to ask how much we owed and where to send payment. He said he did not do it. Neither did his brother.

Now we live in a small, rural community. Lots of our neighbors have back hoes and tractors. Dill, the only one in the family who actually saw the man doing the job described him as “an old guy with mostly grey hair” That describes a lot of our neighbors. He couldn’t even remember what color the tractor was (there are neighbors loyal to International and others loyal to John Deere) and I have no idea how to find my good Samaritan.

Pepper says I should just not worry about it and focus on “paying it forward” as the saying goes…. So I suppose I will just try to do that. Maybe the kindness will continue to be contagious. To everyone: “Happy Easter! Thanks for all you do!!” :)