Improving our wee corner of the world
‘‘Wow, Mum! Look at the size of that thistle!’’
It’s been a big week of doing little things in our community, starting with an encounter with a little rocky garden that doesn’t really belong to anyone but noone knows who’s supposed to look after it.
Is it the council’s responsibility? The people who own the building it’s beside? Who knows.
My son and I were on our way to school. We stopped beside the rocky garden so he could properly admire the thistle that was threatening to take over the pavement.
There were a few of them in there, each sprouting exponentially as the weather alternated between torrential rain and blazing hot sun – perfect conditions for out-ofcontrol thistles to grow even more out of control.
That afternoon, the kids and I donned our gardening gloves and weeded that rocky garden that doesn’t really belong to anyone.
It didn’t take much to rip out the weeds, and in a few minutes our little corner of the world looked a little more presentable.
The next day, I happened to look out my front window and saw a dog wandering down the street.
He had a lead but a human wasn’t attached to it. He looked like he was living his best life out there on his own, but he was also quite small and I didn’t want to be the last person to see him alive before he jumped out in front of a car.
When I approached him, he bounded over to me with lots of licks and general joy. I’d seen an open door in the building opposite our house. A ‘‘yoo-hoo’’ around the door and sure enough, wee Ricky had gone on a solo adventure but was now safe and sound.
Then yesterday, my son and I were on our way home from school when we passed some rubbish on the ground.
My son said, ‘‘Mum, I’m going to help the environment and pick up this rubbish. But I’m going to
need your help carrying it because I can’t ride my bike and hold it all at the same time.’’
I was so proud of my wee man for identifying a problem in our community and being so willing and immediate to do his bit to fix it.
It wasn’t our job – none of the things were – but I think that’s just part of being part of a community: everyone pooling together to get it done, and filling in a gap when it needs filling.
Whether it’s painting over graffiti, picking up litter, mowing the berms if they get a little out of control, picking up fallen-over recycling bins, pulling thistles out of random rocky gardens, or rescuing little cute dogs, every little bit counts when it comes to showing pride in your neighbourhood.