On Wednesday night, this happened to a tree in our backyard.
That huge branch was resting precarioulsy on top of both of our swing sets.
The kids were a little bummed.
My husband was nervous about the tree and told the kids they couldn’t go out in the back yard, but seeing as he’s 9 days out from total knee replacement surgery, there wasn’t a whole lot he could do about it.
I can do a lot of shit myself, but I’ve never used a chainsaw, so I wasn’t sure how we were going to tackle that.
I posted the picture on Facebook.
Not looking for help.
Just because I thought it was a pretty impressive sight.
Within a couple hours I got this message on Facebook.
Hey… Do you need a hand with the tree tomorrow? C comes equipped with chainsaw if necessary… Just say the word and we will be there.
And then a couple minutes later, this exchange from two other friends:
If you need help, holler. Seriously.
I might have a husband for rent.
My husband is free but he has no skillllzzz with a chain saw. He’s good at moving shit though! Ps…..I ain’t too shabby myself.
Six months ago, I never would have taken any of these ladies up on their offer.
But 2014 has been The Year of Accepting Help.
I’m a pro at it now.
I messaged them all back.
Tree removal party starting at 10. Get here when/if you can. Thank you so much 🙂
Of course my dad came up too.
So this morning at 10:00 the troops arrived.
They started cutting.
And loading. And driving.
And hauling.
And more cutting.
In an hour, my yard went from this:
to this:
My friends do not suck.
Now all of this happened just days after I was having a conversation with a friend whose kids I give swim lessons to, and who also happened to be one of Number 6’s preschool teachers.
She asked me if I had seen an article that she had posted on her Facebook page about time trading.
I hadn’t seen it, but it sounded interesting.
So I checked it out (here is the link to it).
I loved it.
And then the thing with the tree happened.
And then that cardinal came back out of nowhere last night when I was on the verge of just giving up.
And then,
out of nowhere today,
this butterfly appeared.
A monarch butterfly.
And it flew right onto my stomach, and it just sat there.
For like, a really long time.
Number 4 was looking right at me.
“MOM! LOOK AT THAT BUTTERFLY! IT’S JUST SITTING ON YOU!!!”
It was a little strange.
Of course I immediately got my phone and Googled “monarch butterfly totem.”
The butterfly symbolizes rebirth. Transformation.
The butterfly is a reminder to make changes when the opportunity arises.
I don’t know.
Maybe all this stuff happened randomly.
But I don’t think so.
Back to that time trade…
Time trading, or TimeBanking, is a system where time is the currency in a community.
TimeBanking is a way of giving and receiving to build supportive networks and strong communities. One hour helping another earns one TimeBank Hour (also called time credits, service credits or time dollars.) TimeBanking builds on the magic of “pay it forward,” one good turn leading to another and another.
Having time be the currency kind of levels the playing field.
You can decide, in a TimeBank, what services you are willing to donate your time for.
It could be babysitting.
Grocery shopping.
Stacking wood.
Gardening.
Home repair.
Dentistry.
Music lessons.
Anything.
Whatever the service you perform, your hour is just as valuable as anyone else’s hour.
So maybe you don’t have the support network that I do.
Or maybe you are just not comfortable accepting help from others, and feel the need to offer something in return.
If you belonged to a TimeBank, you would have resources.
You would be able to accept help, knowing that you could also return the help at some point.
And how great would this be for your community?
I’m a small town kind of girl. I want to know my neighbors.
Some of these TimeBanks have once a month potluck dinners where all the members get together.
They get to know each other.
I just wrote a post last week about how people don’t acknowledge each other. How nobody smiles at anyone around here.
I think a TimeBank in my town might change that.
Honor real work that is beyond price. Long before there was an economy based on paper money, folks worked gathering and preparing food, making shelter, keeping each other safe and healthy. This is real work that has real value that can’t and needn’t be measured in dollars.
The tree cutting party at my house today was so awesome.
Why limit that to my house and my friends?
My town could use that.
So,
I’m on it.
And if you are too, I made a Facebook Page…
Check it out.
Join it.
Let’s make this community, and ourselves, a little bit stronger, and a whole lot closer.
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