My 92 Year Old Helper

Doris likes to keep busy and she does just that. I sometimes tell her that work stops after lunch and she agrees. Washing dishes, keeping the kitchen floor clean, baking pies and hanging out clothes are just a few of the things she does to keep busy. Sometimes Doris crosses the line and tries to help me with the outside chores.

I planted a coconut in the side yard and a few chestnuts in a pot which I placed in the front alcove so it could be watered by the nearby sprinkler. At supper time I pointed out these new happenings and to be sure I emphasized where they were and not to even touch them. I was really trying to avoid her cleaning things up outside.

Today when Theresa and I were trimming our Ficus trees I had to stand on a ten foot step ladder and I needed her to anchor the base. I observed from my perch that the coconut was missing and the hole where it was planted was filled with nice black earth. After we completed our job I checked to see where my newly planted Chestnuts were and there they were ... gone.

I told Theresa that Doris must have been helping me with the yard work. I went inside and approached her kindly and asked if she might have removed my plantings. Doris explained that she removed what she thought was a rock that would hurt the lawnmower and filled in the hole with an empty pot of black soil. Was there something wrong ?

Doris assured me that the pot had nothing in it but soil so I dug up the soil and found the nuts intact and ready for replanting. Being such a good helper I told Doris that her main contribution was really in the confines of the house and that any time you see an empty pot with soil in it it not empty but a planting that is not yet growing.

Doris is a great helper but these things will happen as she approaches a hundred so I better get used to it. I wonder what I will be doing when I am 92.