Okay, so on my way home from work every day I pass this little church that always has cute saying on their board outside with service times.

The sign this week reads like this:

Aspire to Inspire

Before You Expire

All week I've been driving by this sign and thinking back and trying to find a recent moment in my life where I have Inspired someone.  Today......I figured it out.

If you have been to our house you have seen the Meadows Apartments on the cross street of our street.  Earlier this summer, we met a gentleman who lives there, single, with his two little boys.  The boys are probably btwn the ages of 5-8.  He has been watching me plant trees, flower and a garden in my yard and I noticed one night as I was tending to my trees he was crossing the street.  He introduced himself and asked if I worked for the Utility dept. since I was using the flag markers as my tree markers.  The Utility companies had been by the week prior to mark the lines on where I could and could not dig.  Since I had figured out where I could dig, I pulled up the flags and used them as my markers as to where I was going to plant my five trees!  I stood there and talked to him about planting and gardening and about how I just got a Horticulture job at the Louisville Zoo (and of course, like a lot of other folks, had to explain to him what "Horticulture" was).

The next weekend, I noticed he was out with his two little boys, tilling up the little bit of yard they have (apartment living) and planting tiny little vegetable plants.  When he sees me out watering or tending to my garden and plants, he comes out with the boys and tends to his garden.  This has been a pretty constant happening.  I know when I get my gloves on and my water canteen filled up that I'll be greeted by two little smiling faces and shouts of joy across the street as to what they have grown and how big it is compared to a couple days ago.  Pretty cute to see them so happy.

So, I was out this afternoon and watering my trees when I see them pull in the parking lot, bags of groceries in their hands.  They all yell their Hello's from across the street, drop their bags and run over to see what I'm doing and to ask what kind of trees they are and "my how they've grown".  When I planted them they were only about 12 inches tall and now a couple of them are waist high and one is to my shoulders (I'm pretty proud, black thumb and all!!).  He instructs the boys to come back over to help put groceries inside and the next thing I know, here they come again, only this time they all three come over, not just the two little ones.  They were all three beaming from one ear to the other and were super excited to share with me a bag of crops from their garden.  They gave me two Egg Plants and two Squash.  I can't wait until my cucumbers are big enough to pick, as I am planning to make home made pickles and am thrilled with the idea of gifting to them some cucumbers and home made pickles.

It dawned on me today that that little church sign helped me to realize that I have inspired them to grow their own garden.  My gardening neighbor told me today that he's NEVER grown anything before and was happy to see me gardening and happy that he was able to show his children that hard work does pay off.

Pay it Forward Today....go Inspire someone to do something Great!