Martha from RevGals offered this week’s Friday Five:

This time last Friday I was on my way to the airport to pick up your usual host for first Friday Five. We had a mighty to-do list for the Labor Day weekend, and her accomplishments were so far beyond impressive as to be heroic. A dumpster is now full of water-damaged junk from my basement.

This was not a job I could have accomplished by myself. I had to ask for help.

I hate to ask for help. I love to give it. You may identify with these feelings.

So, for this Friday Five, please list four ways you have been helped when you didn’t want to ask for it and one way you had a chance to help that meant a lot to you

1. Last summer, I was on a grand college tour with Reedy Girl. We were on our way from one college to another and our path went through the beautiful Adirondacks… where the car had a sidewall blow-out in the middle of no-where. No-where as in NO cell service. (At least not Verizon!) A couple stopped to help us; he was a Eagle Scout (of course he was!) and they had an AT&T phone which connected us with my friendly AAA Road Service.

2. On this same adventure, while waiting for the AAA guys, a park ranger saw us standing beside the car, with Reedy Girl reading the manual aloud to me as we got out the jack and attempted to put on the spare (oh yes we did – read the manual, that is!) The park ranger stayed with us.  We were not able to budge the lug nuts on the tire. Our AAA guys (nicknamed “Stretch” and “Ichabod”… yes… really) appeared. And still the park ranger stayed nearby. Finally, when we were limping down the highway on our “donut” tire, the ranger followed us all the way to the AAA repair station. He made sure the owner knew he was watching out for us, and once the car was up on the lift being fixed, and he was confident we weren’t getting fleeced, he went on his way.

3. I got a little fire pit for our back patio, thinking it would be a nice little addition for the fall – marshmallows for the band kids after a football game, etc. And I managed to put it together until I needed a third hand. It wasn’t going to happen unless I had help. Bearded Brewer was tired from a long, LONG day, and had already given up doing some other tasks that were on his list for the night. He came and helped me (with power tools!) and the task was done in less than 5 minutes.

4. I had to ask for references from several people for a job that requires a background check for the last 10 years. I needed people from jobs, schools, etc. Do you know what it’s like to ask a person you haven’t talked to in a while to do that? “Hi! I have this 8 page form that someone will be sending you to fill out ASAP… Would you mind?”

5. I had the opportunity to offer some encouragement via phone this week. That the person called me, trusting me to listen and pray them through a situation meant a lot. I was happy to be “a voice from home” — listening, offering perspective, and praying. Pretty wonderful.

BONUS: A Blast from the Past… 🙂