Carol A. Hand
Ageist messages that I’m too old
at 70 to do simple chores
sometimes makes me hesitant to try
But my courageous daughter inspires me
and a funny thing happens when I do try
anyway

I realize with the right tools
like my “new” $20 8-foot ladder
from Habitat for Humanity’s “Restore”
I can clear the gutters of
sprouting baby maple trees
anyway
With my little green garden wagon,
work boots and heavy-duty gloves
I’m not too frail to haul and carry
landscaping blocks to upgrade gardens
and prevent continuing erosion
anyway

I’m not ashamed to sweat buckets
in my raggedy work clothes
doing honest manual labor
It’s a gift and a privilege
to take care of what I can
anyway

Privilege requires responsible stewardship
regardless of what others do and think
with simple tools to extend our reach
and help us carry heavy loads
‘though the efforts are always a work in progress
it’s important to keep shouldering what we can
anyway

***
And you will always be a master at providing inspiration, Carol. I’m still around but have lagged on keeping up with my blog (and many other things for that matter!) since my book finally got published (Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0998414204/ and B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/reclaiming-lives-joan-treppa/1126743473)! The book has been selling well enough so far and after a few hefty bumps along the way, I now also have books on hand for signings, etc. Now the bigger push to publicize this case and get the five men out of prison begins! Be well, my friend.
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Joan, it’s always a pleasure to hear from you! Congratulations on your book and new blog site! I look forward to learning more about the next steps in your hero’s journey. 🙂
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👏🏻💪🏻😊
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Thank you for your creative comments, Chris. 🙂
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Wonderful garden, dear Carol! Quennie must like to spend his leisure hours in it. 🙂
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Thank you so much for your lovely comments, Maria. Alas, Queenie can only view the gardens through the window, but at least he has a front-seat view. 🙂
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And don’t you ever bring his locked cage outside? Budgies like that so much!
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Ah, I wish I could take Queenie out, Maria, but his cage is too big to fit through the doors…
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I see! Well. you could buy a small one for him. A friend of mine had a travel cage for her budgie & used to take him out. 🙂
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Well said and well done!
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Thank you so much for your thoughtful, lovely comments, Cynthia. ❤
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Well said, dear Carol. We are what we believe we are…anyway. Feeling accomplished is awesome! 💕
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Thank you so much for your lovely comments, Carrie. ❤
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I’m with you all the way! I need one of those green garden wagons 🙂
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🙂 It’s a great tool, Rosaliene. I don’t know what I would do without the wagon…
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I think Carrie’s comment sums it up ‘we are what we believe we are’ and we should do what we believe we can do for our own satisfaction!
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Thank you for seconding Carrie’s (and sharing your) wise insights, Andrea. 🙂
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I share your joy, Carol. Stewardship is a rewarding experience in and of itself.
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It is rewarding, Diana, and sometimes one of the most important things we can do in times like these. 🙂
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Great stuff. You are inspirational. 😀
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Thank you for your kind words. 🙂
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You’re very welcome. 😀
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Great to hear. I’m hoping to be doing that stuff when I’m 70 as well.
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Thank you for your thoughtful comments, Ken. 🙂
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So true, Carol, and on so many different levels…
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Thank you so much for your thoughtful comments, Annette. 🙂
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Thanks for sharing Carol! you are a wonderful writer and now I know you have got a green thumb as well!!
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Thank you for your lovely comments, Hector. ❤
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Love it and I’m so glad you are still able to be that active. I try to be too as I approach my 75th birthday. Do be careful climbling up on that ladder though. Love, N 🙂 ❤
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Thank you for your always thoughtful comments, dear Natalie. ❤
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❤️😘❌⭕️
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I have just spent a weekend in beautiful Yorkshire with a relative who is 72. He is a fine woodwork craftsman and has almost finished completely refurbishing his entire back to back in Leeds. Gorgeous floors and varnished cupboards everywhere, It is beautiful and you are never too old for honest labour Carol! xxx
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Dear Nelly, thank you for sharing an inspiring example, and for your always kind words. I send my best wishes to you. ❤
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Simply inspiring. Well done!
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Thank you so much for your kind words, Jim. ❤
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Walmart seems to keep me relevant with tools in my mid 60s. Thanks for the reminder.
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The Restore often has amazing finds and the money spent there goes to fund a worthy cause. 🙂
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It’s youthening exercise, Carol, and a great metaphor for life. You rock!
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Thank you for your great comments, JoAnn. You rock, too! 🙂
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Thanks! Have a great week, Carol.
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So true and for me too at 27. ‘Privilege requires responsible stewardship’. Perfectly written. A note I will carry in my heart for always. Such a pleasure to sit with your work and ponder. Thank you.
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Thank you so much for your lovely comments, Tori. I send my best wishes to you. ❤
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With the right tools and effort even the seemingly most difficult job can still be
accomplished at our age. ( I’m 69)
Just please be careful when you are doing any ladder work Carol. The trick is good shoes.
(you probably already know that)
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It’s always a gift to hear from you, Eddie. 🙂 I appreciate the advice – ladders do scare me a bit, but the “new” one has wooden steps instead of slippery aluminum rungs and is far safer for my heavy work boots. 🙂
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I saw that wooden ladder there. Those are safer but they are heavier. As long as it’s weight is not a problem then it is a good one to use.
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