The Small Actions We Don't Say Thank You For

Take Pen to Paper: Edition 105

Sep 26, 2024

Greetings Readers!

Does your household have a rhythm of who takes care of what chores?

You may have discussed and agreed on chores for each member. Or, if you are like my household, the chores just naturally find their way to the right person.

Either way, remembering and being grateful for what others do is a good idea.

In this newsletter:

Lessons in daily chores.
Dealing with nature’s critters.
A message received.

A Forewarning

Before my husband left town last week, he gave my son and me a rundown on what needed to be done.

I have the inside of the house under control. For the week to come, I would need to take over a few chores my husband always handles. My son listened in, but since he works late hours and the chores are few, I knew I could handle them.

Water the outside plants. ✔️
Put chlorine in the pool. ✔️
Clean up after the dog. (That wasn’t on the official list, but I know it’s a daily chore.) ✔️
Empty the pool’s skimmer basket. (❓)

I knew the skimmer basket didn’t only collect leaves, and the occasional mouse or frog wandered into the pool and did not survive.

“Have there been many critters in the basket lately?”

“It’s mostly leaves. But there might be a frog or spider that gets in there.” My son and I locked eyes across the table. Spiders give us the creeps. The ones that end up in the pool are usually big enough to be extra creepy. I hoped they could stay out of the pool for a week.

With forewarning in mind, I was ready to take on these chores.

It Started with A Frog

When I checked the skimmer basket the first time, I discovered I could not reach the basket’s handle to pull it up without being on my hands and knees and reaching most of my arm into the hole.

This did not sit well with me.

I wanted to be in a position to move at least as fast, and preferably faster, than any living critter I might meet. At my age, getting up off my hands and knees is never fast.

After wracking my brain, I retrieved the longest kitchen tongs, which worked perfectly to pull up the basket and empty the leaves.

On the second day, I checked the skimmer to find a good-sized frog that was very much alive and riding the whirlpool in the skimmer. I’m OK with frogs, and I thought he would ride in the basket when I pulled it up with the tongs.

The frog did not.

It jumped out back into the skimmer hole, struggling in the whirlpool, that tried to pull it down the pipe to travel to the pool pump.

I was back to my original problem of the depth I would have to reach with my hand to grab the frog AND hold back my dog, who thinks he is a frog wrangler. Dogs and frogs do not mix. Frogs excrete something when they are picked up (frog pee?), and if it’s in a dog’s mouth, the dog foams at the mouth for an hour or more after the event. It’s a mess. We have experienced it.

Thank goodness for the tongs. I used those to grab the frog and toss him across the fence. It hopped towards the creek.

This was only Day Two.

I Got The Message

On Day Three, I opened the front door to retrieve a delivered package.

There lying on the doormat was a dead bird. It had flown into the glass storm door to its instant death. Now, it waited for me to dispose of it. I did because my husband was away, my son was working late and these little chores are falling to me.

Frogs, birds - what is nature trying to tell me? Is this an Alfred Hitchcock movie?

My husband doesn't mind doing these chores that I usually don’t even think about. I can do them, but I really don’t like to. They are small actions that I appreciate not having to handle.

Have I ever told him how much I appreciate what he does? Now is a good time to start. And maybe, I should be looking for small actions to do that I’m not already doing for my husband and others.

I really hope there’s not a spider in the skimmer tomorrow.

7 Days, 7 Thoughts on Gratitude and Good:

I am grateful to have people in my life who do the little things that need to be done without my asking.
Frogs need and love water, but they don’t need the chemicals put in swimming pools. Here are some suggestions for removing frogs from pools. Oddly, kitchen tongs are not mentioned. 🐸
Do you know how many birds are killed by flying into glass each year? Read about it here. 🐦
Bird fatalities caused by flying into glass affect the ecosystem. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has these recommendations to reduce bird collisions with glass. Here are other ideas to consider. 🪟
Most spiders cannot swim, but that doesn’t keep them from falling from trees into the water. It creeped me out to check this site for more information. 🕷️
It’s good to have a little information about problems that may occur when you take on a new chore. You may want to problem-solve in advance.
It’s good to do a small daily chore for someone else occasionally. It will put a smile on their face and yours.

Thank you for reading. This week, tell someone how much you appreciate the small things they do.

Until next time,

💚

Susan

What is the worst extra chore you’ve had to complete temporarily? Leave a comment and let me know. I would love to read about it.

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