Monday, June 01, 2009

Why I Mow My Lawn...

This post is dedicated to Amber, who wonders why I am mowing the lawn and not her brother.

It all started when I was about 12 years old and my dad decided that his lawn mowing days had come to an end because he had two daughters who could now do it. Years before that, my sister and I always had to be outside while my dad mowed because we had to do the edging, weed eating, and grass pickup (we'd have to rake it all into a pile and then put it in the trash). Now I'm sure that my sister is going to argue this with me in her comment, but don't listen to her. I swear to you that I had to mow the lawn WAY more than she ever did because when we moved to Arlington, TX she stayed in Garland with my aunt and uncle for awhile so that she could finish the school year, or something like that.

So unlike my darling sister-in-law, I did not have any brothers who could mow the lawn, I had to do it....along with MANY other jobs that my Dad made me do. Working in my home was a serious thing because I have a mom who is an exceptional cleaner and wanted to teach her daughters to do it to the same level of perfection (I remember having to show the tub to my mom after I scrubbed it in order to get her approval...I normally had to do it at least 2-3 times). I also had a Dad who claimed that the reason he had children was so that they could do all the work while he "supervised". The only way that I could ever spend the night at someone's house was if I was home by 7 am Saturday morning so that I could begin my Saturday chores.

As a youth, I would always dream of the day when I was married to the man of my dreams who would never even think of having me mow the lawn, edge, weed eat, trim bushes, rake the leaves, etc. Fast forward 3 or 4 years....I married the man of my dreams who has ever allergy known to man, and to top it off, he's allergic to grass. So, I mow the lawn. Not that he can't or won't do it. We had a day of service about a month ago here in our region and Cory had to mow like 6 lawns. He wore jeans, a long sleeve shirt, and had to take like 10 benadryl. He came home miserable. He would mow our lawn (and he actually did the front yard last week while I was gone, but I took over and did the rest because otherwise I knew that I would have a sleepy husband the rest of the day because of all of the Benadryl he'd have to take). But I actually kinda like it. I enjoy the satisfaction that comes from seeing the beautiful neat rows of trimmed grass. It is very satisfying. In an effort to be frugal, Cory traded some of his tools for a lawn mower. It is wonderful and does a great job, but....it's a push mower and we have a huge hill in our front yard. So not only do I get the satisfaction of a beautiful yard, but I also get a great work out.

12 comments:

Whyzzerd said...

I love mowing the yard because it is about an hour of "me time" well, sorta. Stephan sits on my lap, but he usually loves it and is quiet the whole time... Then again we have a riding lawn mower (that was given to us because we didn't have any kind of mower at the time) ... so, end the end I have a mowed yard, a tan, and I'm usually relaxed and so is Stephan!

Penni said...

Yay for mowing the lawn! I used to mow the lawn growing up b/c my dad is in a wheelchair and my brother moved out of the house and my mom paid me to do it. :) I usually mow the backyard now and it is surprisingly very satisfying.

Lena said...

I'm a mower too. We all had to take turns when we were younger too. I also think of it as "quiet" time. Me and the sounds of the mower or music if I want it. Kind of peaceful and it does look great afterwards! I think it's great that you will do it for Cory. Who wants a sleepy husband all day? I would trade toilets to mow the lawn any day.

Sherrie said...

I don't think the swimming princess ever mowed the lawn. No wonder she would ask such a question. It is true, in our house it was not just any Mann's job, it was a man's job!.
Love Mom by the beach.

Stefi Patterson said...

That's so not true mom!!! I mowed the lawn all the time!!!!!!!!!! I mowed it more than dad did when I was still at home! Don't listen to her Melissa, I mowed. (And I loved it, just don't tell my mom.)

Amber said...

I'm not sure if I should be flattered or offended by all of the "personal attention" my comment has generated! LOL. Thank you for the dedicated post. I figured there had to be a perfectly good reason as to why you were mowing and not Cory. I'm glad that you find joy in it!

Love, "The Swimming Princess"

Lisa said...

wow! i feel a little guilty that i have hired a company to mow my lawn every other week. and have a housekeeper to clean my house once a month. but i promise thats only while patrick is gone. when he gets back i'm putting him back to work :)

Sherrie said...

Okay Stef, I knew that type of comment was forth coming because you are right, you did mow the lawn, just not when the swimming princess was around, but only because I wouldn't let you. And to be fair to Amber, she was way too busy to mow.
Love mom
PS Thanks Mel for letting us use your blog as a forum for discussion.

Melissa said...

Way too bush to mow huh? Good thing she wasn't too busy for some jetskiing around the culdesac. LOL (only amber will get that).

Melissa said...

Not bush, I meant busy.

MANDY said...

I'm just like you on this one, Mel -- I usually mow, too, and for the same reasons. My sisters and I always helped with mowing and Brad has a major allergy to grass and the outdoors in general. It is very satisfying to finish it and see your work laid out in front of you and your neighbors. We also use a push-mower, which used to annoy Brad, but our yard is small now. I actually mowed our whole yard, push-mowed mind you, on my due date with Mallory - in the heat of the NC summer - while Logan and Brad watched college football inside. I did go into labor that night, so it was well-worth the work! :)

Tricia said...

Wow. you all can enjoy the mowing. Meanwhile, R has taught Emma how to use the riding mower and she loves it. And since she's only 7, he still helps out. :)

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