Well, I discovered another thing I don't particularly like doing. And I don't have any desire to do it again. Ever.
Yesterday we decided it was time to mow the grass. Ordinarily you would think this would be the last time before winter. Of course that would be if you lived somewhere besides our tropical island paradise. Our neighbors on every side had already mowed – even the reprobate bank that owns the vacant house next door sent someone over to mow the weeds there. It's not that our yard looks that bad. I suppose it was standing out amidst the freshly done backdrop, however.
We actually started the day out by trying to buy some of that rolled fencing for one side of our back yard. It has been on our list since Hurricane Ike knocked it down. Just not very close to the top of the list. We looked up the company online to make sure they were still in existence and to see what time they opened. We double-checked our measurements and hopped in the truck. The fence company was over on Harborside, so it felt a lot like driving into Texas. As it turned out, we might as well have made the trek. Their Galveston branch was not open on Saturdays. We would have to drive to League City. Not happening. So we postponed the fence thing.
That brought us back to the top of the list where suddenly, mowing the grass had emerged. We stopped at WalMart and got some of that winter fertilizer. Now we were set. Chris volunteered to do the weedeater edging in the front (not an easy task, I might add. The weedeater lost its guard piece sometime this summer, so you take the life of your legs in your own hands when you pick it up), while I mowed the back, and we were off. Well, Chris was off. And I guess you could say the lawn mower was off as well. It started fine, but whenever it rolled over grass it complained and coughed and slowed to a crawl. I cleaned out the air filter to no avail. I did everything I could think of to jar it into operation. You know. Bounced it up and down a few times. Slapped the side with my hand. Even kicked it a time or two. Leaned it over and looked at the blades. Even spun them around a few times. None of those scientific measures did any good. In fact one or more of them made it worse, because it finally decided to not even start. This was worse than the way it behaved at the beginning of the mowing season. Then a good friend put a great bandaid of some kind on it, and it worked fine. Up until now. Months of toil and sweat have obviously loosened the adhesive. Somewhere in the midst of cutting and puttering the fix became unfixed. It was done.
So, being the awesome husband I am, I went up front and volunteered to take over weedeater duty. Chris asked if I wanted her to stop the next yard crew that drove by and hire them on the spot. Can't have that. I'll do it as long as I can, right? She was almost finished with the edging, so that didn't take long. But then I had an idea. I would just mow the entire yard with the weedeater. How hard could it be? Back and forth. Back and forth. Clip, clip, and we're done, right? Not so much. Oh, it worked just fine, and I did get the yards mowed. But there are patches where my arms obviously got tired and the string got a little too close. And there are patches where I thought I got it, but obviously missed a spot. And by the time I got through, my arms were killing me. And my back. And my neck. And my knees. On a more positive note, Chris was for some reason inspired to throw away some of the stuff that has been cluttering up the back yard. That's always a good thing. And she said, "I guess it's time to get a new lawn mower and weedeater." Now there's a great idea. Wonder what his name will be?
Proverbs 29:18 says, "Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint;
but blessed is he who keeps the law."
Father, draw some people to Seaside today who need you. And work some miracles. Amen.
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