5-year-old and new neighbor bond over love of doing yardwork

A lawnmower.
(Image credit: iStock)

Brian Kelly is a resourceful 5-year-old — when his father, Dan, was deployed overseas in May, he started going next door and asking his neighbor, Dean Cravens, if he would join him in doing some of the same things he used to do with his dad.

The Kellys moved to their home in Belleville, Illinois, last July, and Brian and Dan loved doing yardwork together. At first, that's what Brian wanted to do with Cravens. "I thought, 'Well, let's do other things, too,' so we play catch, we'll be shooting the ball, working on my golf swing," Cravens told Good Morning America. He is the father of three daughters, and said he's been enjoying having a boy around, adding, "It's different."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.