Saturday, June 09, 2007

Spoiled


In the summers of the distant past, before Mr. Son and Miss Daughter became teens, I would spend approximately 4 hours a week mowing our, and my grandmother-in-law's yards. It was a nice respite from cleaning, and being a mom 24/7. I rather enjoyed it.

Today, I spent over 7 hours mowing my lawn. Yep, you read that right, SEVEN HOURS!

It could have taken me much longer, but I got lazy. In the past when mowing, I have been known to go over a spot again and again, until all blades of grass are the same length....yeah, yeah I gotta problem .... but I do like pretty lawns.

Anyway after about hour three, and not even being halfway done, I began to tell myself......"this is not a golf course, the lawn does not have to be perfect, and, it is a waste of precious gasoline to go over a spot that has already been mowed." So, I was able to skip most of the not so even places, well, most of the time. I also trim around trees with the garden tractor, I have gotten quite good at using forward and reverse to trim around the trees. But after about hour four.....nope, I decided that 2 foot high grass with seed heads is quite pretty, and I want to experience that more fully.

The mowing is now done for a week, a 10 acre oasis of fairly even length grass. Around hour six, I decided, maybe, I should buy a goat, or, put up some fencing and pasture some horses. What a savings it would be in gasoline, and back muscles. Plus, boarding horses would be added income, there is one stall here already.

My next thought....tell Miss Daughter how riding the mower is a great way to get a tan. Might work, even if she would do half, my back would thank her. But, she still does the mowing at her father's house, so I somehow doubt I will be able to convince her to do it here too.

It has spoiled me in recent years to have someone else do the mowing, I missed it on occasion, mowing is a fairly brainless activity, and it does give one time to think. So, there were times when I would tell one of my children I would do the mowing. They liked that.

I have decided that a part of this extremely large yard is going to return to nature. There are areas in which it would be quite pretty, and beneficial to the abundant wildlife in the area to have some meadow lands. Now, I just have to convince my neighbors.

Another area in which I realized I have been spoiled in the past is having central air conditioning. The one here quit working on Thursday evening. I debated long and hard before calling my husband to check it out, it was a very humbling experience as well. At first I didn't think I had the right to request that from him. But, it is one of his many areas of expertise, and I most definitely do not have the money to hire someone to do it, plus it made him feel needed. At least that is what I am telling myself now.

He did examine it, and the compressor is inoperable, so we wait until Monday afternoon for repairs to be accomplished. In the mean time, I am getting used to the heat, being a bit more conscious of keeping drapes closed during the day, and opening windows only during the evenings. What I didn't expect was melted chocolate.

I was so tired by 9:30 that I didn't feel like preparing a meal for myself, so I snacked, and then felt like eating something sweet. I remembered Miss Daughter requesting me to buy the ingredients for S' mores. I went to the cabinet, and came across a package of melted Hershey bars! Melted! I have never had them melt in the house before! It must have gotten quite warm inside today.

In thinking about all of this, I did realize how spoiled I have been. My life has been relatively easy. My husband is man of many skills. Rarely, very rarely have we had to hire someone to repair a broken appliance, rarely have we taken a vehicle into a shop for repairs if it was past warranty. He has always had the knowhow, or the fortitude to learn to repair most broken items. I have learned much from him over the years, and I am very grateful for that. I realized many years ago, that in watching him, I learned that very few things are impossible to do ourselves. In that time, I have attempted many things, learned from those attempts, and been quite proud of my accomplishments. I have him to thank for that.

As I was contemplating all of this today, I realized, now, I have to learn how to sharpen a mower blade. Now, I have to remember how to change a flat tire, now I have decide whether I attempt minor plumbing repairs, in addition to a multitude of other things. Impossible tasks? Nope. But ones I have let someone else do over these many years.

As I was thinking about all of this. I wondered, what did I give him? Was there a gift of me to him?

I can't really think of any. I have no special talents, I am atrociously bad when it comes to mechanical things, I can do many types of home renovation, as long as they are simple, like painting or wall papering (neither of which I do well, but I can do them). There are many things I do around the house, hanging pictures, arranging furniture, cleaning, minor (very minor) carpentry, but the big stuff and much of the little stuff, he did.

Emotionally, politically, even somewhat intellectually, we are very different people. But I do have to realize, that somehow, for over 27 years, there were parts of us, that complemented each other. I will miss that.

In the grand scheme of things, I know that what I am doing is best for us both, but, I also have to wonder, what is about me, that he will miss?


Just for the heck of it, some really cool bugs I saw today.

4 comments:

plan0 said...

When asking that question, what was your gift to him, remember that you will have to determine that yourself. He will either not have noticed, or at this point would be unwilling to give you the satisfaction of sharing that knowledge.

Have I ever mentioned how long it takes me to mow the lawn, without using any gas or electricity? Fifteen minutes. Consider it one of the side advantages of living in the city.

Fiona said...

I love the smell of freshly-cut grass.....not that we get it too often here!

I don't know that I'd have the dedication for that size of yard. Maybe a little square, but that's a ruddy great FIELD Sunny!!!!

I hope the Lime Ginger Martini deal isn't a lure to tether me to your mower!!!

Anonymous said...

Did he ever run out of toilet paper or toothpaste while you were with him? Did you make all the appointments for the kids and keep things running smoothly? Did you clean the kitchen nine times a day? Did he have fresh sheets on his bed once a week, clean towels, underwear?
You both contributed to your marriage. He had his talents and you had yours. Once in awhile my husband mentions something about "his" money and I need to remind him that I work damned hard around here so that he can leave the country and go to work like he does. My work and the work you did is valuable.

For the lawn/field, either plant timothy and harvest it in the fall or get some goats. My lord woman, 10 acres doesn't qualify as a lawn!

Take care.

Sunny Delight said...

Sc,
There are gifts I can hope I gave him, but knowing....doubt that will ever happen.

Fi,
I like it too, and what an IDEA...why yes I do believe I have several Ginger/Lime Martinis waiting here for you!

Deb,

Yes, darling woman, I did think of all those things, for some out of those many years we spent together we had the opportunity to be a team, each contributing in our own way, but I am hoping I gave him something much greater..time and this whole process will tell.

The problem with harvesting, is I would have to have the equipment, and that thought entered my mind as well, I am leaning toward naturalization and habitat...time will tell on that one too.