The mile back

​Just this week, my grandson, Cal, moved into a newly renovated apartment in California.  He is thrilled and so am I!  No matter how old your children or grand children are you never quit being concerned.  

We were talking about that this morning.  Cal thought he had a washer and dryer but turns out, the regulations where he lives don't allow one, so he has to go to the laundramat.  

That made us start thinking about living in NYC and how we had to go to the laundramat.  We had a washer and dryer in one apartment, but only one, and we lived there about 7 different times.

John boy started talking about me walking 8 blocks to do laundry, then coming back to our 4th floor walk up and hauling it up the stairs.  (I usually went when they were gone on the weekend.)  The building we lived in was a fire hazard too, unlike Cal's brand spanking new digs!

I was laughing about the time I was in a zone (or something) and walked up 5 flights instead of 4!  John boy said, "that's like going the extra mile, Mom!"  

Maybe so.  But when you have to walk up 4 flights of stairs, several times a day, one more flight might make one a little frustrated!  When I realized what I had done, I laughed, turned around and walked back down...much easier than going up!

Maybe that's what we should do when  someone asks us to go "an extra mile".  Instead of feeling frustrated or put upon, we should laugh, and gladly do whatever we can to help out.  I can promise you, that the walk after that extra mile, will be much easier and you will feel happier and lighter coming back down the road!