sweeping the S I D E W A L K

I try to give them the benefit of the doubt by assuming that the Germans are fun people. I'm not totally convinced but I'm trying. From an outsiders perspective looking in, they're all business- very serious, rarely smile and work, work, work. Something I don't do very well. I know how to work and like to think I'm a very hard worker, but if I have too many consecutive days in a row of all work and no play, I go a little crazy. Jim's the opposite- he can't stand sitting for too long and actually enjoys hard work. Enjoys it? Yes. I don't  understand it either. Jim has the farmer's mentality. Along with the early to rise, early to bed schedule his body is set on, he works. He started working at a young age- maybe around twelve years old. Walking beans, cleaning out hog pens, bailing hay, cleaning silos, mowing waterways between the fields and lots of other miscellaneous jobs.

The more I think about it, Jim probably could have been just fine growing up a German boy. Not only is he a very hard worker, he rarely smiles or talks to people he doesn't know. Works great over here since they really don't talk to strangers. The furrow in his eyebrow also gives off the illusion that he's either mad or way too serious most of the time. Personally, I think he's very, very funny and makes me laugh every day, but from the outside you would never know. I'm not so sure I could have handled growing up here with so much seriousness and quiet. I still have a hard time going in to the grocery store and not talking to anyone.

In my whole life, I don't know that I've seen too many people sweeping their sidewalks- until moving here. The Germans take the maintenance of their sidewalks very seriously. As residents, you are responsible for the sidewalk in front of your house- shoveling in the winter and sweeping the rest of the year. If someone slips on the snow and gets hurt in the winter because your sidewalk isn't shoveled or have ice melt on it- you're responsible for their injury. The house can be crumbling, nasty and falling apart, but the sidewalks don't have a spek of dirt on them. Every clear day- they're out there sweeping. It doesn't matter if they're thirty or ninety- they sweep. Not just sweeping the dirt in to the street- they use a dustpan and actually sweep it up, then throw the dirt away. My favorite thing to watch is the ninety-five year old couple sweeping together. I always have Jim slow down while he's driving because I think it's just so cute. The old Grandpa will hold the dustpan while the Grandma sweeps it up or they switch it up and do it the other way around. They can barely walk, but their sidewalk is spotless. Oh, so sweet. Maybe that will be us in fifty years- I'd like to think so.

oops... this guy caught me...