A Gift in Return

This year my husband put three raised beds next to our driveway.  I have a real vegetable garden for the first time since we've lived here.  We put the garden out front out of necessity.  We have no space in the back.  But a wonderful thing happened.  I have met more neighbors than I could have imagined.  And the abundance of the garden?  Well, there's just too much for only my husband and I.  So we give to the neighbors and often, when one of us is out front, a stranger will walk by and compliment the garden.  There is always a spare head of lettuce or tomato or pepper to give away.

Today I was out tying up the tomatoes.  A very nice elderly gentleman, a native of India happened by.  My husband had been cleaning out the garage and had put some old stuff on the curb (as he often does) with a "free" sign.  The gentleman stopped and asked permission to go through the stuff and I said, "Of course.  Help yourself."  He found a few treasures and then he turned to me with a big smile on his face.  "In India, nobody would give these things away," he said.  "In India, people would sell them and make a little money."  I smiled at him and nodded.  I really didn't know what to say.  I didn't want to say that I don't need the money.  We could all use a little more money.  He kept smiling and he repeated what he said, as if I didn't really understand him.  Finally I said, "I have enough.  I have what I need.  We don't need that stuff anymore and maybe someone else does."  With a very wide grin, he said, "Thank you."  I wanted to add, "Thank you, too."  I hadn't really thought of my life that way very often.  He made my day.