Checking (account) in

You know things are looking up when you realize that the paycheck you just received will not immediately get redistributed to utilities, wireless provider, internet provider, credit card companies and mortgage company.

I frequently review my bank statements and account information, and even though I keep steady track of what goes in and what comes out, I have somehow managed to maintain an unaccounted for surplus in my checking account. Last year I went through 1.5 years of statements with my banker, and neither of us could figure it out. I'm not complaining. I am totally cool with having a cash cushion, I just wish I knew why.

I mean, has someone failed to cash my check(s)? Did I accidentally send in an extra mortgage payment when it was switched to a third provider? Is someone secretly sneaking funds into my account without them showing up on my statements?

The whole thing actually reminds me of the first year I lived in my house. I didn't have a lawn mower for the first month, and it was spring. May, to be exact. That means rain in Nashville. Lots and lots of rain. And that means the grass grew to knee-length.

I managed to get a 2nd hand mower for $30 from a neighbor's yard sale and got the suburban savannah down to nubs, but I was working crazy hours and didn't get a chance to do it very often. The grass grew more quickly than I could get to it, and I started to feel like that neighbor who is bringing down home values due to yard neglect.

Living across the street from Richland Creek, I knew that the odds of finding a literal snake in the grass would grow with said grass, so I had incentive, although not availability, to keep it short. Thankfully, one of my neighbors did have the availability.

I would come home from long days and nights to a mowed lawn. Just the front, but still...it was something! It kept up for a little over a year. I never knew how did it, so I started referring to the kind soul as the Lawnmowing Fairy.

It was only after a driveway conversation with one of my elderly next door neighbors that it was revealed that her husband was the Lawnmowing Fairy. He had been out on his riding mower and decided that since he was already on it, he might as well take care of my yard, too.

Like the experience with my neighbor, I just say a quiet, but heartfelt thank you. Regardless of how the money got into my account, I am grateful. I'm grateful not only for the extra I didn't intend, but for the extra I am able to put aside for when I need it.

I'm grateful for that extra so that I can surprise Grandma with flowers, treat my niece to a yoga class or plan a trip to see some friends. Let's hope it lasts that long.