Do I miss my lawn mower?
As we sweat it out through the dog days of summer, I always think it’s funny to start seeing back-to-school commercials on television when it’s 90 degrees outside and more ads for lawn fertilizer, mulch and autumn supplies when the grass is still green and lush and the summer flowers are still flourishing.
I recall going to a local big-box home improvement store one late September to purchase bags of mulch and the clerk looked at me blankly when I asked where it all had gone. The pallets piled high with bags of mulch used to be courteously loaded into your car trunk by nice, young, strong employees when you pulled up to the side of the store. On this visit, they were long gone (probably back in school) along with the bags of mulch. Apparently, I was too late in the season to buy mulch as the displays had already well moved past Halloween and on to Christmas.
I was chuckling the other day thinking about this as the landscaping crew from our complex went about their work in the searing heat and humidity. What I was also thinking was better them than me! Don’t get me wrong – I used to love doing yard work and all sorts of home improvement projects (as you’ve read about here through the years). Does that mean that I still want to have to mow grass every week? Nope. Do I still want to trim hedges two to three times a year? Not at all. Do I miss doing yard work? Not a lick.
One of our friends who’s about my age (maybe a couple of years younger) retired early and is serving a church mission overseas. He and his wife are empty nesters and left behind a huge house in rural Idaho that they’re currently in the process of selling so they can downsize upon their return. In a recent email, he mentioned he spent the day helping some neighbors with the yard work and that he realized how much he is missing his yard work at home and working around the house with his hands. Mind you, this often includes chopping wood in the winter.
I laughed when I read his thoughts since my experience couldn’t be more opposite than his. I will say I always enjoy potting plants and hanging baskets of summer flowers and didn’t ever really mind watering any of the flower beds or shrubs to keep them looking so pretty. However, I cut grass, trimmed shrubs, mulched and raked leaves more than enough over the past 20 years (along with shoveling snow) to last a lifetime. It was good exercise and gave me a sense of accomplishment.
I still clean the house, wash the car, and enjoy doing interior maintenance, but I am more than happy to be free of lawn care duties.
Do I miss doing yard work? Not one bit.
Kristin Emery can be reached at kristinemery1@yahoo.com.