Ashlie Miller: Snow shovels and leaf blowers

Ashlie Miller: Snow shovels and leaf blowers

Published 10:35 am Saturday, February 7, 2026

By Ashlie Miller

What do you get if you borrow three snow shovels and convey out your gas-powered leaf blower (aka a redneck snow blower)? Well, when the circumstances are proper, you get a block occasion!

Normally, our household observes Sundays because the Sabbath. We collect for worship with our church, get pleasure from a lunch at residence, after which relaxation and refresh earlier than one other busy week. Work accomplished on this present day is that which shows take care of others or an “ox in the ditch” state of affairs (see Luke 14:5). While we personal no oxen nor do now we have ditches as a part of our panorama, the snowpocalypse that greeted us on Saturday left a lot of our neighbors, significantly these with shaded, steep driveways, in a repair.

While certainly one of my sons and I have been making our method again from a protracted winter stroll, we noticed a number of neighbors out, taking advantage of the sunshine whereas clearing driveways of the fluffy white stuff, grateful that the majority of it was not but compact and hardened (icy!). One set of neighbors had three of probably the most lovely issues (properly, magnificence is within the eye of the beholder and the fitting setting) — three wonderful snow shovels! What a novelty within the South, the place dust spades work solely marginally higher at snow removing on a driveway than the backyard shovels adorning most garages and power sheds. Our neighbors down the road had borrowed snow shovels from their next-door neighbors, who, in flip, loaned them to us.

At 2 p.m., one thing wonderful occurred in our cul-de-sac — as different neighbors got here out to thaw and started taking advantage of their backyard shovels, a gathering of kinds appeared. Children got here out to run round, make large snow bases for snowmen with a number of the adults, or to assist shovel a neighbor’s driveway, even when just for 5 minutes. Teens had an opportunity to flex their muscle tissue by shoveling in document time (due to the lightness of the snow!) and use their brains by repurposing the gas-powered leaf blower to filter paths. Adults related with some neighbors for the primary time, whereas others reconnected. Babies have been held and revamped, and even the pups relished the liberty of socializing. All the hustle, bustle and motion helped stamp down a lot of the cul-de-sac in a extra pleasant method than a snowplow!

After nearly two hours of labor, play, and socializing, neighbors returned the shared shovels, shook arms, and supplied thanks — not only for the instruments and muscle tissue, but additionally the impromptu block-party that was a lot wanted. After all, we’re Southerners, not accustomed to consecutive weekends of isolation (not less than, not the kind we don’t select for ourselves).

Sometimes, the burdens we are able to lighten as acts of Sabbath mercy and care are piles of snow on driveways. And typically hospitality is proven much less by soups and candy treats (which I’m all for, and obtain gratefully!) and extra by snow shovels and leaf blowers being shared within the cul-de-sac.

Ashlie Miller lives in Concord together with her household.