Snow shoveling and neighbors

Three hours... the amount of time I would have spent with a client this morning, but instead spent shoveling... ah, the joy of a corner lot.  My 10 year old failed to make a dent in the ice covered snow when she attempted a snow angel.  That should give you an idea of the weight on each lift of the shovel.  Regardless, I enjoyed the exercise, did my homeowners duty of clearing the sidewalk and made the following observations about my neighbors:

1. some embrace shoveling, strap on their heart monitors and count calories
2. some pitch in and help others, shoveling beyond the boundaries of their own sidewalks
3. some say "Why bother? I've got nowhere to go.  People can walk on the other side of the street."  

While the 'why bother' option was tempting, I'm thankful that I am capable of and have the flexibility in my schedule to bother.  I guess I'm grateful:

1. to have the time and physical ability to do a chore like shoveling (to bother)
2. to show my kids that this is what you do, when your get 6 inches of snow.
3. to have seen the trash collector stop to retrieve what I thought was a soda can, but in fact was an injured bird that he gently moved to safer ground.

My dog was just grateful
for the path to pee