Clear the path next door before your own
Snow and ice are a broken hip for an older neighbor and an inconvenience for you. The order you clear in matters.
The BeingKind editorsPublished How this is written
Why it lands
A fall on ice is one of the commonest ways an older person loses their independence for good — a fractured hip at eighty is often the start of a much longer decline. The person most at risk is also least able to clear it. Doing their path first, before you have run out of energy on your own, is the difference between a good intention and the thing actually getting done.
How
Start next door and work back to your own. Clear the full width, not a narrow channel, and get right to the road — the curb is where people go over. Salt or grit afterwards if you have it. Say nothing about it; being visibly thanked is not the point and can make people feel like a burden.
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