Week 33: Freeing Fire Hydrants

Wisconsin got hit with a few snowstorms last week requiring time to be spent outside clearing it from roads and sidewalks. And fire hydrants. But sadly, this daughter of a firefighter noticed once again that the majority of them, in my town at least, had not been attended to.

And so last week, I threw a shovel in the back of my vehicle and sweet talked my sweet daughter into driving around with me for an hour or so while I cleared a path from the street and created access space around a whole lot of hydrants in town. 

Because it's been so cold, the snow that fell was fairly light around the bases, but the frozen slushy stuff from the recent plows was not. I shoveled until my almost-50-year-old shoulder with the reoccurring rotator issue protested too loudly. 😅 I cleared 15 in total. 

After freeing one particularly buried one, I told my daughter I was disappointed to see so many hydrants going unattended. She said, "Maybe people don't know they need to do it." And I bet she's right. Because not everyone grew up with a firefighting father. And not everyone thinks about caring for houses the way I do as a real estate agent. And so....

For those of you unaware, firefighters need a path from the street to the fire hydrant, and they are able to work most efficiently when there is 3+ feet of cleared space around the hydrants. 

Also worth knowing: It only takes 3-5 minutes for a house to become engulfed in flames. 

You do NOT want your hometown heroes spending precious time clearing snow when people and animals and things you love are inside. 

And so, I suggest you take note of your nearest fire hydrant and assess its accessibility. If no one has been caring for it, congratulations, you've been elected Fire Hydrant Captain!

If someone is already doing a great job of clearing it (like my old neighbor Doug, whom you may remember from Week 2's beer delivery post, does) you have some options: 

1. You could thank them,
2. You could do a little something special for them,
3. You could find another hydrant in front of an elderly neighbor, or one being ignored close to home, and adopt it as your own,
4. You could spread the word about the importance of keeping space around hydrants neat and tidy (but not in a preachy way, no one likes a know it all), and/or
5. You could drop off a treat at your local fire station (firefighters love baked goods) to say thank you for all they do. 

And since this realtor is on the topic, another winter maintenance tip is this: be sure to clear space around all of your furnace and dryer vents outdoors to eliminate the possibility of carbon monoxide being trapped in the house. 

And to install a carbon monoxide detector in the house. 

And to change your smoke detector batteries twice a year/each time you change your clocks. 

Wait, I'm sounding like the preachy people I warned about above. 🙈 Sorry! 

For more home maintenance tips (or for help with buying or selling your home 😁), send me an Instagram DM or email at sschultz@kw.com. Otherwise, I'll leave you here, trusting you caught my drift on freeing fire hydrants from snow drifts. 😉

Week 32: Beers for the Bakers, Broilers, and Barbequers

My boyfriend Mark made a reservation for us at The Regional in Fort Collins, Colorado last week Friday for an early Valentine's dinner since we're 1,000 apart today. 

We got a little bit dressed up (easy for two people who live primarily in sweats and gym clothes 😅), left the dog with lots of good boy treats, and headed down the mountain, into town. The parking saint was with us; we found a spot just around the corner from the restaurant. If you've ever been to downtown FoCo on a Friday night, you know what a miracle that is. 

We arrived 30 minutes before our reservation to sit at the bar and have a cocktail. Instead of the main bar in the larger dining room we found seats at the smaller bar overlooking the kitchen and its hard-working staff. And voila! Last week's Kindness Countdown activity was inspired. 

As we sat at the bar sipping our cocktails, we watched the staff prepare our appetizer, then we enjoyed it tremendously as we observed them cooking and plating everyone else's dinner, before we switched seats to our table and ordered our next course. 

The entire dinner was fantastic! The service was top notch while being relatedly friendly, the food was elevated but not so much it couldn't be personalized (I'm a vegetarian who ordered the scallop gnocchi, "hold the scallops and see if they can maybe work cauliflower or broccolini in there somehow?"), and the atmosphere was like most places in Colorado: dress as you're comfortable and you're A-OK. I always love that.

When it was time to order dessert, I asked the waitress a quick question: How much would it be to buy the kitchen staff a round of drinks? She said she'd get our Amish cheese cake order in and come back and let me know. 

We agreed to the price, asked to have it added to our bill, and enjoyed the last course of our amazing dinner. 

When the waitress presented our check she said, "I loved that you bought a round of drinks, I haven't had anyone do that in a long time. I bought you guys your dessert." What a lovely thing for her to have done. 💖

I hope your day, your week, your year, your life is full of love. 

The best way I've found to ensure it is is this: love others. It will come back.

Week 31: Self Care ≠ Selfish

Hi, my name is Shannon and I have OCD, and the potential for the anxiety that is known to accompany it. 

After living with an unnamed obstacle for decades (these things were not typically discussed in the 70s-90s when I was coming of age), I finally realized something was different about me. Soon after becoming a mother, I sought out answers and coping techniques to ensure I was doing all I could to provide my kids with a happy and healthy life. 

My therapist ran me through the ringer with some intense, for me and my condition, exercises. But I'm happy to say that for decades now I am able to live in the world and not have my OCD impact others (98% of the time). I've come so far as to learn to lean into my born tendencies to enable me to excel at things professionally, or in actively loving those close to me, and having a whole lot of empathy for others. 

Having said that, last week did not look like that. Last week was a tough one for me. And as usual, there wasn't really an exact reason. 

Yes, I had stress. Yes, I was dealing with some personal things. Yes, work was busy (I'm a real estate agent and the Spring market is underway, it comes with the territory - and I love it 99.9% of the time). 

But none of those things were really any more intense than I ordinarily, happily, live with. 

But last week Thursday, the day I had planned my activity for Kindness Countdown, I found myself riding the wave of one of the most severe anxiety attacks I have had in many years. 

I don't normally cry. But I did last week. 

I am almost never brought to my knees unable to move forward with things. But last week I was. 

I don't take my anxiety medicine but a couple times a year. But I did last week. 

I don't often share my story about living with OCD. But this week I am. 

Why? Well, because 1) I'm considering the grace I showed myself as last week's kind activity, giving myself the time to dig out of the pit I found myself in and 2) I wanted to pass along a reminder to anyone who needs it that it's OK to take time for yourself. 

There really is something to that whole "You can't pour from an empty cup" thing. 

I have the above-pictured wave tattoo on my wrist as a reminder and illustration of the truth I've found over the years: bad thoughts/times come in, but they are temporary; all waves eventually return to the sea.

If you're in a rough patch, give it time (like I did last Thursday). If you are living high, enjoy the ride (like I did with a fun night out with my bestie to celebrate me getting through the tough time last week - top photo 😄).

Here’s to hoping you have more ups than downs, and the love to give yourself time to work through the lows when the tide goes out. It will always come back in! 

PS: the tattoo under the wave is my sweet dog Maude who passed away two years ago. The story of us coming into each other’s lives is a whole story, but part of it is I was open to another dog to help with my anxiety and she ended up having lots of her own. We loved and healed each other as best we could and I miss her every day. 💗

Week 30: Childhood Craft for Adult Accomplishment

You guys! I need to take a moment to brag about my very witty, beautiful, brave, kind, and super smart best friend who has been working towards her DNP (Doctor of Nursing Practice)! 

And now the end is in sight, literally, with the paper chain I made her to count down to it!

Brenda and I have known each other nearly our whole lives, meeting on the tennis courts the summer before attending the same middle school. 

We spent years hitting the mall to pick out books, building forts in the woods, watching music videos on MTV, talking on the phone about boys, and playing sports. (Typing that out made me realize we have changed little to none since the 80s.) 

Unfortunately, since we attended different high schools, we ended up drifting apart. One of the things I'm most grateful to social media for is our reconnection when Facebook hit the scene. It was like no time had passed during our first meetup, despite the decades. 

Since then, we've been by each other's side through some pretty big life stuff, listening and distracting and supporting during the difficult things and hyping each other up and celebrating the wins. And her DNP is definitely a win!

I spent an afternoon last week cutting out strips of construction paper, dating each piece (because life is hectic and I didn't want her to worry about missing a day), and then taping them all together to make a paper chain with a ring to remove each day until her graduation in May. 

Brenda, you should be so proud of yourself!! I can't wait to introduce you to everyone as Dr Best Friend henceforth! 

Week 29: Hyping Up Hype Fitness

Third spaces. Have you heard about them and their importance for a well-balanced, full, inclusive, fun life? They've been around forever, but were first labeled in the 1990s as the internet (and hours in a workweek) grew. 

What is a third space? It's a place outside of home or work where you regularly connect with others you share an interest or activity with. 

Mine is Hype Fitness in Mequon, Wisconsin. 

As long-time followers already know, I was a homeschooling mom for 17 years. I did some freelance writing and event/project coordination during those years and got my real estate license towards the end as my independent youngest grew and entered school. I've been self-employed for nearly 20 years now, and let me tell you, no one needs a third space more than someone who works from home where the first two spaces (home and work) already overlap. 😅

It was ten years ago when I realized something was missing from my life. I didn't know what it was until I found it: my third space: a kickboxing gym. 

I grew up with a bodybuilding father who taught me simply by example that working out is a regular part of your day, same as brushing your teeth or showering. (Dad, I've told you before, but it deserves repeating, THANK YOU for this gift!!)

With this model of life set out for me, I have always lifted weights and ran and engaged in other physical activities whenever possible, but I hadn't had a routine place to enjoy them alongside others after leaving college....until I met the owner of my current gym, Jordan, and loads of other amazing people in my fitness community. 

The people at Hype Fitness are diverse but inclusive, badass but caring, competitive but cheer each other on. There are members of all shapes, sizes, colors, and ages. But all are incredible. And Jordan is obviously a huge part of that. 

"Look at what you've built!," I routinely tell him when someone gets outside of their comfort zone, accomplishes a goal, or supports another member. 

"You did great today!" or "Thanks for pushing me!" are things members tell each after every workout. 

And I give the sincerest of "Thank you"s to Jordan on my way out the door each day. 

I say all of this to set the stage for week 29's Kindness Countdown activity: I gave Jordan a little care package that included two tubs of protein powder, a gift certificate for him and his sweet and gorgeous wife to go out, and a toy for their dog (who is known to visit the gym from time to time 😍). 

It was a feeble attempt to show my appreciation for everything he's given me and my fellow members in his creation of our third space. 

Let me know if you ever want to join me at Hype for a workout! I promise future health and friends and fun will be waiting for you!!

(Check out some other videos from the years past in my Instagram carousel!)

Week 28: California Wildfire Emergency Relief

 

Like everyone else, those affected by the California fires were on my heart last week (they're nestled next to everyone still suffering in North Carolina), and so my kindness activity was centered around that, from a distance. 

I spent quite a lot of time on my laptop and then took to my phone to find credible places to donate to those in need, and those personally heavy on my heart. 

As the daughter of a firefighter, I wanted to be sure the crews on the ground and in the sky had all the equipment needed to be safe and food/snacks to keep morale as high as possible. I spoke to a woman at the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation who assured me the moneys donated were going to meet those very things. 

Next, I scrolled through some shelters who were thoughtfully moving homeless animals to a further radius to free up space to care for pets and creatures harmed in the fires. I ended up donating to LA Animal Services. 

I called some of the offices in the Pacific Southwest District affiliated with a church in my town. I was directed to their website to make a donation where I clicked on a few links and saw a page listing the various ways members had been affected by the fires and what their needs were before making a donation. 

Lastly, I purchased a tee shirt designed by Kingsland Editions that is giving all proceeds to Mutual Aid LA Network that is working with multiple organizations to help everyone where they are in these uncertain times with fridges full of food throughout the city, stands to hand out donations, and more. 

I pray the donations I made make their way to those who need them most.

Week 27: Cold Cart Retrieval

Wisconsin is currently experiencing a pretty severe cold snap. On Saturday, when I was walking out to my car after the gym in single digit weather, I thought about the retail workers who would be responsible for bringing in the carts from the parking lots that day. Then I thought about all the shoppers who probably would be more likely than usual not to want to walk their carts to their corrals. 

And that's when I finalized last week's activity idea. 

I went home, showered, waited for my hair to dry, and in the early afternoon, when I figured it would be most busy, my boyfriend and I headed out to help clean up some parking lots. 

We started at the Disney World of Saturday errands, Costco, where we found quite a lot of carts needing to be escorted to their resting places. 

One man finished loading his car and asked "Are you taking carts? Because I have one for you." I told him I was. He said, "No, I was kidding; I can't expect you to clean up for me." When I told him I was heading in that direction anyway he acquiesced and said, "You're a real good one; Santa is really going to reward you next year." 😄

After Costco we headed to Target, where we kept on driving because the lot was clear. 

Last up was Meijer, where we were once again put to work, but not nearly as necessarily as Costco. Mark headed to the far side to pick up a handful of carts left in the lot, and I headed to the front walkway to collect all the carts that didn't make it to one of the doors. 

On the way home I told Mark about a lady I talked to in the Costco parking lot (who, for the record, didn't think twice about taking the cart from in front of their car into the store with them) that said she had recently read an article that explained the shopping cart is a litmus test for society. 

I just looked it up and thought it was worth sharing, to at least think about next time you're at the store contemplating returning your cart of leaving it for someone else to take care of. 

Here is it for those interested:

“The shopping cart is the ultimate litmus test for whether a person is capable of self-governing. To return the shopping cart is an easy, convenient task and one we all recognize as the correct, appropriate thing to do. To return the shopping cart is objectively right. There are no situations other than dire emergencies in which a person is not able to return their cart. Simultaneously, it is not illegal to abandon your shopping cart. Therefore, the shopping cart presents itself as the apex example of whether a person will do what is right without being forced to do it.”

“No one will punish you for not returning the shopping cart, no one will fine you, or kill you for not returning the shopping cart. You gain nothing by returning the shopping cart. You must return the shopping cart out of the goodness of your own heart. You must return the shopping cart because it is the right thing to do. Because it is correct. The Shopping Cart Theory, therefore, is a great litmus test on whether a person is a good or bad member of society.”

Week 26: Grocery Gift Card Giveaway

Can you believe this little project counting down to my 50th birthday is already halfway over?! The past 26 weeks have flown by and in just six months I'll be entering another decade of life. Unreal! 

Last week's activity wasn't a new one for my regular life, but rather a routine one I've built into my professional life since starting my career as a real estate agent in Milwaukee years ago. 

After each transaction closes that I've had the privilege of working with buyers and sellers on, I purchase a $50 gift card at a large grocery store and gift it to someone who looks like it would be helpful. 

I have given them to young families with many mouths to feed, full carts when I sense people are stocking up on paydays, elderly people, etc over the years. 

Last week I purchased two gift cards after my last two closings of the year and walked the aisle in front of the registers to survey the checkouts. 

The first family that caught my eye included a mother, her daughter, and two grandchildren. AKA, a pretty fully cart. I approached the daughter and said, "Hi! I have a $50 gift card I'd like to give you to help with your groceries this week." She said, "Really?" I said, "Yep!" and handed it to her. She said "Wow, unbelievable! Thank you so much!" as her mom turned around to see what was happening. The daughter filled her in as I wished them well and walked away. 

The second recipient looked like a proud woman with two children. As she loaded her groceries on the conveyer belt I handed the gift card directly to the Woodman's employee and said, "Here's a $50 gift card to apply to her bill." He looked at me questioningly. I repeated myself, smiled at the kids and their mom and wished them a Happy New Year as I turned to leave the store.

I love my job. I am so thankful I can support my three kids by helping clients shop for their family homes and investment properties (that help care for their families). 

Being able to share my blessings with others is a gift I will never take for granted.