26 Helping Hands

So if you've ever been to my house, you know that my backyard is the bane of my existence. For the 4 years I've lived in my house, it's been a real trial for me and it's certainly never been anything to brag about...until now.

A few weeks ago, I'd finally had enough of the mediocre, raggedy, embarrassment of a backyard and so I laid out a plan of attack. After a few landscaping quotes, I quickly decided I was better off to do the work myself. But it was such a big job - I hardly knew where to start. Thankfully with the trusty help of Round-Up and the assistance of a few co-workers and their roto-til, I was able to get the yard back to a manageable "blank slate." Next I was scheduled to have 8 yards of dirt delivered to my driveway for the renovation to truly begin. I don't know why, but the prospect of 8 yards of dirt really freaked me out. At night I would picture a pile of dirt stacked higher than the garage in front of my house and no means to distribute it. This, of course, was absurd. But nonetheless, I was a bit nervous about the whole thing.

Therefore, I emailed an "all hands on deck" call for help to my network of friends in Bellingham. I expected a few people would turn out and help me haul my dirt tonnage to the backyard, but I had never dreamed the EVERYONE would respond yes! That's right, 13 people responded to the call and committed to helping me out (I think it was the Boundary Bay beer and Rudy's Pizza that did it, to be honest...). I was truly shocked and humbled that my friends would rally together to help me out. So when I found out I had manpower in abundance, I made a "pit stop" at the local nursery and bought enough flowers and trees to round out the back yard. Two and a half hours later - my yard was a green, leafy masterpiece.

Thanks you guys - there's NO WAY I could have done it without you!!