As most of you know, a couple of years ago Orlando was hit by 4 different hurricanes. It was an interesting time, to say the least.

We were amazingly lucky. No one was hurt, and there was no damage to our property. One of the storms (I think it was the second one) was pretty much a direct hit too. It took down huge numbers of trees and ripped roofs and houses apart. The next morning, as we all crawled out of our boarded up houses, people started to help each other with the damage.

We re-planted trees that had been ripped out of the ground, pulled debris off of houses, that sort of thing.

After a while, our little group had pretty much done all that we could do. There comes a point at which heavy equipment is needed. So we all drifted back to our houses to work on our own little problems.

The following days were all about the cleanup – gathering branches and bushes and whatnot. During this period, I noticed that a neighbor was trying to break up a small oak tree that had died. He didn’t have a hacksaw, however, and it was really giving him a tough time.

So I grabbed my hacksaw and went over. Both families were out playing in the street at the time, so he and I were able to focus on the tree. It was pretty simple, really. He’d hold the tree steady, I’d saw through a branch, and then we’d move on to the next part of the tree.

After the third branch, however, I heard a cry of “Hooray Daddy!” from behind me. I turned around and there was C leading a little cheering section: “Hooray Daddy!”

The other kids didn’t join in (thank goodness), but after I cut each branch, I was rewarded by another “Hooray Daddy!”

It’s always good to be appreciated.