One of the many things on my plate this fall is a renovation of an investment property in a quaint mountain town a couple of hours away. Houses have a life and energy of their own, and this one had been bringing down the cul-de-sac for years – abandoned, overgrown, and water-damaged, with falling-down parts and no end to trash, including an old car hidden in the weeds! (Now that’s my kind of challenge).

What’s been really incredible, though, is to see the renewal of energy in the neighborhood as result of our work on this house. At the first mowing of the yard, neighbors showed up to help with rakes and edgers. Within two weeks, a crew arrived to put a new roof on the house down the street. Last week, ladders and paint cans showed up next door, as the neighbors put a fresh coat of paint on their house.

When we commented on how nice it looked, they replied, “You’ve inspired us to fix up our place.” The couple across the street likes to sit on their porch and cheer on the progress, a pastime we’ve come to call “watching HGTV.”

When I signed on to this project, I really didn’t think about much beyond the tasks at hand. As it turns out, friends are being made, neighbors are coming together, optimism is in the air, and the improvement is contagious. That sort of energy makes the exhausting days a lot easier!