I didn’t think calling a gutter cleaning service would do anything other than check a box on my to-do list. It’s just gutters, right? A chore. Another dumb adult task I’d been ignoring. Still, it ended up being… more than that. Way more. Not in a dramatic, “my life was never the same” way. Just… quietly eye-opening. And emotional in a way I didn’t expect.
I’d Been Avoiding It. For Months.
I kept putting it off. The leaves, the muck, the mystery gunk, I knew it was up there, festering. But I convinced myself it wasn’t that bad. I mean, the water was still flowing. Mostly. Except when it wasn’t.
For instance, there was always some reason to put off calling gutter services. Money’s tight. The weather’s weird. I’ll do it after work. Next weekend. After the next big thing.
Then again, a storm rolled in and said, “Hey, genius, remember those gutters you’ve been ignoring? Surprise!” Water poured over the edge like a mini waterfall. Straight off the roof. The splash was loud enough to pull me off the couch.
I walked to the window and just stared while the downspout sat useless and the garden got pelted like a target.
At that point, I don’t know what hit me, but that was the moment. I pulled out my phone, rain still coming down hard, and googled gutter cleaning service like it was some kind of emergency hotline. Which, I guess, it was.
When Mike Showed Up
Two days later, this guy named Mike from Gutter Services shows up. Early, actually. Super friendly guy. Walked up grinning, like this was the best part of his week. Made me feel kind of lazy, honestly, he’s doing the thing I’ve been too overwhelmed to handle.
Looked up at the gutters, nodded, and said something about a raccoon-sized clog. I laughed… nervously.
I offered him coffee. He declined. Said he’d get started right away.
Meanwhile, I just stood there, watching him haul a battered old ladder off his truck. Something about that moment hit me sideways. I don’t know, maybe it was seeing someone else take care of something I’d let go. Or maybe I just hadn’t had enough sleep that week. In any case, something in my chest kinda… shifted.
Weird Memories I Didn’t Ask For
As he climbed up and started scooping out sludge, I sat on the front steps, mostly because I didn’t know what else to do. Suddenly, that’s when the rain gutter cleaning service hit me. The memory.
I, ten years old. Dad is on a ladder. Me holding the hose, pretending to help. He’d bark something like, “Don’t spray me!” and I’d laugh, aim it a little too close, and get a “knock it off” that wasn’t really angry. It was our thing. Fall weekends. Gutter cleaning and lukewarm hot cocoa after.
Truthfully, I hadn’t thought about that in years. Decades, probably. There I was, doing nothing but sitting and thinking while Mike handled months of my neglect. And suddenly, it was like I was ten again. The scent of soaked leaves, the sharp air, and Dad’s denim jacket slung over a rake handle.
Strangely enough, all from some gunk in a gutter.
The Small Stuff Is Never Just Small
At first, I didn’t think anything about this was different. But looking back, something small had definitely changed. Just enough to notice. That gutter cleaning service? It cleared more than the downspout. It cleared a bit of space in my head, too. You know that strange clarity you get after finally doing the thing you’ve been dreading?
That’s what hit me. It wasn’t just the mess or the old feelings it brought up. It was about how fixing one small thing made room for other stuff to settle. I’d been dragging my feet on more than just the gutters. There were all these little things I kept pushing aside. And honestly, that nasty clog? It kind of showed me what I’d been doing.
These days, I schedule the rain gutter cleaning service before the leaves even start falling. I don’t wait. And sometimes, while someone else is up there clearing things out, I sit on the steps and let myself remember. Not because I have to. Just because it feels right.
Sometimes the grown-up chores end up being the ones that reconnect you to who you are. Not in a huge way. Just enough.
