For my community service requirement, I didn’t have to look far. I started in my own kitchen by baking for my church. Even though baking isn’t one of my favorite pastimes it was still very relaxing. It also helped knowing how much people would be enjoying the treats I made. Baking didn’t take very long, and I needed something else to help me get the hours I needed. Fortunately, I already had somebody to ask. For the past three summers now, I have been helping a neighbor, Kathy Avery, with her garden now that her back isn’t doing as well has it use to. I have always tried to keep her from paying me, but I always lost that argument no matter how many times I told her I didn’t want money. Which was very true, I have always loved gardening and needing the community service hours for Ogallala let me help her without getting any money out of it, which is what I have been trying to do since I started helping her.
The first time I went to help Kathy there were no flowers to be planted so I pulled weeds out of her flower garden. I was able to get most of the weeds pulled but after three hours Kathy made me go home, since it got up to 90 degrees during the time I was outside. I am proud to say I escaped without any sunburn, despite the heat. The next time I went to Kathy’s I was, once again, pulling weeds. Since its been so dry it hasn’t been a good year for planting flowers. This time I was kicked out by the weather after I had finished pulling some weeds. This time however I was kicked out by mother nature as we received the first big rain of the summer. For my final time working in Kathy’s yard I didn’t have to worry about the weather, no rain and no major heat. I spent my final hours raking wood chips out of a flower bed Kathy no longer needed.
I have always enjoyed helping Kathy with her garden and I am going to miss her greatly as I go off to college. So, I would like to thank Ogallala Commons for giving me the opportunity to help a friend without them feeling obligated to pay me.
