Someone to Look After Me

Words from a song of long ago came to mind as I wracked my brain for a title for this week's story.  I think it fits - literally, if not in the context of the words usually associated with it.

One of the uses of my spare room is a place to do the ironing and, as I got the ironing board out of the cupboard a few days ago, I was reminded that most of the space in there is taken up by a stock of empty boxes that 'will come handy one day' ... more of them later.

After completing the essential task of that afternoon, my eye lit upon the cabinet in the far corner of the room.  When I relocated here during the summer, it was one of only two casualties of the move.  The top hinge of one of the doors got broken so it looked lopsided when closed, and wouldn't stay put when open, unless I propped it with something.  "I must do something about that one day," I muttered, and hurried off to put away what I'd ironed.

The very next morning, in my daily scanning of the posts on Trash Nothing (formerly Freecycle), I spotted a smart item described as a 'TV/DVD cabinet'.  Thinking of its injured counterpart upstairs, I looked more closely at the measurements.  The capacity of the offered piece was about the same, slightly taller but narrower than what I already had, but certainly a candidate for a replacement.  I enquired about a couple of details, got a prompt and satisfactory reply, and later in the day drove over to collect it.

One significant detail I hadn't considered was the weight of this solidly-built item.  Fortunately, the lady who had placed it had foreseen the difficulty this presented and was quite willing to help me get it into the car.  As I drove home, my mind was going through various possibilities of getting it through the door, lounge and dining room, let alone up a steep flight of stairs.

First things first.  I brought forth some spare sheets, spread these on the road behind the car and managed to get the cabinet out of the vehicle.  As I pondered my next move, the front door of the neighbouring house opened and a voice asked "Would you like some help with that?"  I looked up in some relief to see the man coming down the steps almost before I had told him that was very kind and yes, please.

I have to admit that, as the two of us lifted it across the pavement, up two steps, through the front door and into the lounge, I realised that my embryonic plans would never have achieved this, without damage either to the cabinet or myself ... let alone getting it up a steep flight of stairs.  I was very relieved when my co-worker suggested that he help me get it up there ... a journey in which he bore the greater burden by a goodly margin!

The following afternoon found me emptying the contents of the cabinet all over the floor of the spare room, demolishing the empty shell and storing the bits in the far corner for disposal.  Given its original purpose, the new arrival had the apparent disadvantage of three great holes in the back.  I was aware of these, but had considered this no problem given the simple purpose I had for it.  However, as I now viewed the piece of hardboard I'd taken from the back of the old cabinet, I realised that it could probably be put to good use!  Amazingly, within a couple of inches either way, it matched the complete back of the new one, and was quickly screwed into place without the need to cut it at all.

In the space of about an hour and a half, the filled but injured store had been replaced in the corner by something smarter and more serviceable.  The next task will be to deploy the contents in their new home.  Given the fact of this not having an internal shelf (why would it have?), I may well need to make use of some of those empty boxes in the cupboard!

What do you make of this sequence of thoughts and events: noting a problem one day, spotting a solution the next, the necessary, but unrequested, help to load and unload it, the matching size of the hardboard, and the speed of replacement of one by the other?  Some would call it good fortune, others coincidence; I knew someone who would have used the term 'God-incidence'. ... I will be more explicit and say that I believe it was an answer to an unspoken prayer.  Didn't someone say that He knows our needs before we even ask?