In my neighborhood here in Vermont our local pool closed for the season on September 15. As an avid swimmer, I got my last laps in the week before. Often, after an overnight rainstorm, there are frogs in the pool (doing the breast stroke of course). I typically check the water before jumping in to see who might be swimming around early in the morning. The morning of my last swim was no different. There was a frog in the pool – actually a pretty good sized one. I chased him for a bit but he wasn’t ready to be lifted out just yet.
A childhood tomboy and nature girl, I felt comfortable sharing the pool with this frog while I did my laps. It was a beautiful morning for a swim – a pink sunrise glow in the sky and some fluffy clouds amid the warm colors. I was in the middle of lap 14 when I noticed something kind of big floating in the water in front of me at the end of the pool. I have very poor vision and I hadn’t yet put my contacts in for the day. I stopped swimming, stood up, pulled off my swim goggles, squinted my eyes, and said out loud “Wow, that’s a really big frog!” I looked closer and noticed that the critter had fur. Yikes!
I got out of the pool, grabbed my glasses, and walked to the deep end where the creature had been floating. As I leaned over, I realized it was a little bunny and it looked so tired with its little legs moving only slightly. I immediately ran to neighbors’ houses and started ringing doorbells (at 6:45 a.m.) looking for someone who had a fishing net. A friendly neighbor quickly went to their garage, found a child-sized net and we ran across the street together to the pool. We easily lifted him out and noticed that the poor guy was so tired that he was no longer moving and his eyes were closed. Boy, did he need a nap! I thanked my neighbor who happily brought the bunny home to resuscitate him before later releasing him back into the wild. As I headed back to my home, I thought about how gratifying it felt to help bring this little creature back to safety and how grateful I was to my neighbor for so willingly helping me to rescue him.
Every day we have countless opportunities to make small connections with other people and make the world a better place in the process, if only to save a backyard critter. These small gestures cascade out into our communities and the world in general. Where in your life could you reach out for help in making the world a better place somehow? Who might be very happy to support you in that effort? Who could you partner with in taking action and doing something which you feel passionate about?
Please share similar experiences and comments below!
It's always good to have neighbors who are always willing to lend a helping hand in times like those. Those types are likely to become the closest friends you can ever have. About my personal experience... I just want to say that it's good to have someone ready to help you all the time.
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