Just Add Water

We had some work done on the yard today. Let me start by saying that I don't garden, I have never gardened, and I never will garden. I live in Texas, I'm allergic to bees, I have sun allergies... Oh, and I kill anything that isn't a weed, and some things that are. Regardless of the current Texas drought, my "garden" has exploded over the last decade. If you've ever read the book "The Secret Garden" our yard was the thicket that needed to be traveled to find the secret garden. It was literally not possible to see certain parts of the yard, depending on where you were standing. 

So, back to my point. It's Texas, it's hot, it's only June and we're in the 90s. We had a landscaping crew out today; before everyone arrived, I put about five pounds of ice and a little bit of water into the dispenser in the picture, it holds about five gallons. The secret on a hot day like today is to add LOTS of ice. The ice melts and turns into ice-cold water. When the water and ice are low, just add more ice. I also sliced up five lemons and five limes (knowing that some people prefer one over the other) and placed them out in covered dishes with some disposable cups. This whole set up cost me less than five dollars (I already had the cups). There were three guys on the crew. They drained the first five gallons by 1:00 p.m. I refilled it, and they nearly drained it again by the time they left at 6:00 p.m. When I stepped outside to thank them for all of their hard work today, one of the landscapers stepped forward and said, "thank you so much for the water. Nobody has ever given us water before. You are a very nice lady, thank you!"

Am I posting this because I want everyone to think I'm an awesome person? Well, I wouldn't hate you for doing so, but no. I'm posting this because I think that people don't think about doing these things. It's not because anyone is a "bad" person, or they "don't care" about hired labor. It just never occurs to anyone. I'm here to tell you that it makes a huge difference to the people you're employing. Just one little thing like this. These guys were so happy that I'd thought of them. I know that most work crews bring a big "Gatorade-style" dispenser and fill it with tap water from the hose. But, it's not cold and it's not very refreshing. To say nothing of the fact that there are no lemons or limes. I swear EVERY SINGLE SLICE of citrus I put out was used today. 

Was it worth the extra $5 to let these guys know how much I appreciated them? Absolutely. I'm considering having them come out and do another job for us. Next time, I may just put some fresh fruit out for them!

A simple act of kindness goes a long way.