1 Day: Won't You Be My Neighbor

It's snowing. No where to go, nothing to do. One last day before the big four-o. I was putting away my clothes from my recent trip to Austin and listening to WTMD when I heard the DJ mention that we're expecting 1-2 feet of snow. Not inches. Feet. And then he suggested checking in on our elderly neighbors. Boom. My idea for my last "first" before 40.

I shoveled my elderly neighbors' walks. Carmen's house is directly next to mine and Anne's is down the way. Anne is my favorite neighbor ever. She looks out for me. She clues me in on the neighborhood gossip. She gets me a bottle of red wine for Christmas. She tells me I deserve a good woman. Anne says she'll put in a good word for me with God. She doesn't believe I'm turning 40 tomorrow. Even after all of this 40 days to 40 stuff, I'm not sure I believe it either.

Anne recently fell. She doesn't remember what happened. She's got a sore shoulder and bruises on her face from the incident. Apparently she took her recycling out without her cane. She's a got a sweet yappy little black dog named Jazzy. Anne used to be a dancer. After shoveling Anne's walk, I took Jazzy for a walk. She peed.

Tomorrow's the day I mark my 40th year on this earth--whether I look it or not. I'm excited and admittedly a little nervous about the new "firsts" ahead. A used car to buy. An old house to possibly purchase. A new year with work already lined up. A new decade to investigate. Thanks for coming along on the journey with me. I hope there are many more firsts to come!