On Being the {Gracious?} Receiver

Earlier this week when I got a call that I needed to "help" with Enrichment night, it was easy for me to say yes.
That is, until my friend on the other end of the phone explained how they wanted me to help this month.
She very kindly explained that she needed me to open my home to sisters who could come and serve me for about 2 hours on Thursday night (last night).

Sheesh.
That's not an easy way to help.
I admitted that to Karolee, and she and I chatted for a few minutes about how it IS hard to be served...and then she started throwing ideas out for me to consider.
It only took about 3 suggestions before my mind started jumping from project to project, thinking about how great this opportunity was!

The 2 hardest things for me were 1) settling on the project to get done, and 2) choosing not to clean up excessively because *gasp* sisters were coming over.  (I did make the kids do their chores before scouts, but that's pretty normal.)

Time and budget constraints made our final decision on what service would be rendered...we've had things purchased for a garden with a dripper system since last Nov. or so, and although I debated more shelving for the pantry, or painting a room, or even hanging noise-reducing curtains in the dining room, the ultimate decision was made because we had the gardening items in hand and unused out in the backyard.  All of the other projects would require a run to the hardware store and at least some out of pocket expense.   (I literally had no clue about what to do with the garden though...that's always been Pat's forte...and I knew I'd be busy for the first little while with the scouts).

So, last night, I had 3 sisters come to my home and loaned us a circular saw to cut the wood for the garden boxes, helped dig a small trench for the dripper hose, and filled our 2 garden boxes with the soil we had on hand.  We have 2 more garden boxes to put together, and we will need to buy more dirt and SEEDS to plant...but I'm looking out at a backyard with a space that WILL BE our garden.  Seriously, so cool.  (And as an added side note, I got some walls washed in the process too!)

Now, I just need to figure out what I want to plant.  :)

Refreshments came in hand...my kids loved those this morning!
Awesome idea...and I am SUPER excited, because next time Sister Swaps happen, I WILL get to help someone else...and not have to be {gracious} about being the recipient.