Five Years After Moving to México, Jon Discovered This
Jon Sweeps the Cobblestone in Front of Our Casita
It’s customary in
México to sweep in front of your home or place of business regularly, typically
each morning. Some people who have a tile or stone
entry even damp mop the public sidewalk in front of their gate or front door.
For five years, our housecleaner has swept the cobblestone street in front of our
gate as part of her weekly cleaning duties. We thought that was often enough.
Our Tropical Almond Tree Viewed from the Second Floor
But apparently, it
wasn’t, and the reason revolved around an important tree, one that we have a
love-hate relationship with. We have a large tropical almond tree, a variety
that is valued in this area for the shade they provide, that overhangs the
cobblestone street, our yard, and the exterior stairway to our second floor. We sometimes cuss the tree for
the mess it creates—dropping huge amounts of leaves and plum-like almonds daily
and providing a roost for the chickens that poop on our stairs and garden
wall.
Leaves and Tropical Almonds on Our Exterior Stairway
But the neighbors valued the shade of that tree for their gatherings on
warm afternoons where they relaxed and chatted just outside our garden wall. And
we liked it for the privacy screen it provided between homes. We could never cut
this important shared tree down, but we could have it severely topped, reducing
the debris that fell by half. So, once every two years we hire a guy to climb
up and remove the fast-growing upper tree limbs, sometimes with a machete and
sometimes with a chainsaw.
We noticed that
the neighbors often swept our side of the street, sometimes daily during the
season when the purple, fruit fly-covered almonds were dropping into the
cobblestone area where chairs were lined up ready for family gatherings. Some
days the briskness of the sweeping outside our gate sounded furiously fast—were
they angry with us for not sweeping our side of the street? So, occasionally
Jon or I would sweep the cobblestone when the leaves and almonds were
accumulating, hoping the neighbors appreciated it.
Sweeping Leaves and Almonds on Our Stairway
About a month ago, Jon
started sweeping the cobblestone street in front of our casita every other
morning. Our house is on a corner lot, so that means he sweeps two streets, a
strip of about 200 feet (60 meters) long. He sweeps well past the center of the
street but not quite to the neighbors’ houses on the other side, a width of 15
feet (4.5 meters). That’s 3000 square feet (270 square meters)! In addition to leaves and almonds, the amount of dust and sand that
accumulates daily is amazing—a product of the many cars and trucks that drive
in and out of the dirt lot kitty-corner from our house.
In addition to increasing
our pride in our home and neighborhood, there have been 7 unexpected benefits
of Jon’s sweeping. Who would have thought sweeping was so valuable?
1. Smiles and Friendlier Greetings from our Neighbors—It has dramatically changed our relationship with our Mexican neighbors for the better! When we leave home and return, the neighbors outside smile and greet us with more friendliness. Several neighbors have had discussions with Jon comparing brooms. Jon has five types of brooms now and is becoming an expert on which works on cobblestone and what is best for the tile steps.
Jon's Broom Collection is Growing
2. Health
Benefits—Jon gets 5000 to 8000 steps recorded on his Fitbit by
the time he’s finished sweeping, depending on how dirty the street is. Yesterday
he had 7200 steps, 2.49 miles, 125 aerobic minutes by noon! The steps are
smaller when he sweeps than when he walks, so he probably didn’t actually walk
2.49 miles, but the health benefits are in the steps and the arm motions which
raise his heart rate into the cardio range. Since Jon has Parkinson’s disease,
this has added to his exercise regime to slow the progress of his symptoms.
3. Safety,
Especially on the Exterior Stairway—Jon imagines me walking
down those outside stairs in flip-flops and stepping on one of those almonds,
my foot rolling over the nut like I was wearing a rollerskate, and me landing
on my butt. He cares about my safety, so he sweeps the stairs every other day,
too. I don’t even want to think about Jon losing his balance after stepping on
one of those hard little balls—balance is already an issue for him as a result
of Parkinson’s.
4. Less
Dust in Our House—Beach towns are sandy and dusty. We live on
a dusty street in a dusty town with the windows and doors open most days, so
dust filters in with traffic from motos, cars, delivery trucks, bicycles, and
animals. Jon’s sweeping has lessened the frequency of my knick-knack dusting.
5. Construction
Debris is Being Swept Up by the Mexican Laborers—Jon
has set an example for the guys on the crew who are doing construction next
door. In addition to sweeping the street, Jon has been sweeping our shed roof
where construction debris fell from the removal of an old palapa roof next
door. He’s shown them that sweeping isn’t just “women’s work” and they have
begun sweeping up their mess at the end of the workday.
Jon Sweeping Construction Debris Off of Our Roof
6. Social
Time for the Men on the Block—Other men who live near
us are beginning to sweep the street on days when Jon doesn’t, and sometimes while
Jon is out sweeping. It has become a social time when Jon can practice speaking
Spanish and learning more about our town. Maybe the women have suggested that
if Jon can sweep, so can their husbands. Or maybe the men want to show Jon how
well their brooms work.
7. Broom
Sharing and Discussion About the Best Brooms Improves Relationships with Neighbors—One
morning while Jon was sweeping, the lady next door came out to greet Jon with a smile, showed him her
broom, and demonstrated how well it worked for sweeping the cobblestone. Jon told
her in Spanish that it was better than his brooms and so she let him borrow it. Now they greet each other on the street like old friends, and he’s on a
quest to find a broom just like hers.
If You Enjoyed This Story, I Invite You to
Check
Out This “Healthy Living in México” Book
Living
in Mexico Lessons Learned: Healthy Living in México #3
Book
Description
Are
you interested in learning more about Parkinson’s Disease? Take a look at my
novel, “Pickle Jar Test”, available on Amazon worldwide.
I
invite you to SIGN UP for my Healthy Living and
Traveling in Mexico Monthly Newsletter,
with stories about our latest adventures, my recent blog articles, and news
about my books.
Thank you for reading my articles and books. Follow
me on Facebook at "Healthy
Living and Traveling in Mexico"
for more information about life in Mexico and my Amazon
Author Page for
updates on my books and blogs.
Terry L Turrell
