I got up at 3:30 this morning, Made Lisa's breakfast and lunch. Made her coffee. When Lisa got up at 4:00, we went about our usual morning routine. Take the kids out. Make their breakfast. Give the kids their morning snack. Lisa got ready for work. I started on my work stuff.
I was a bit distracted because Lisa isn't feeling well. She has a cold and because of that, she hasn't been sleeping well at night.
At about 10:15 a.m. this morning, I sat on the front porch for a bit.
We got a hard frost last night so it was snowing leaves. Our area is under an Early Warning Weather Alert. Later this afternoon and through the overnight, we're supposed to get heavy rain and possible thunderstorms. Tomorrow morning, when the actual storm system moves in, we're supposed to get massive winds.
While sitting on the front porch, I took notice of the front yard.
I'm aware of what the backyard looks like.
Lots of leaves that need to be cleared. Again.
As I sat there, I started feeling disgusted.
There are a lot of trees in our neighborhood, however, we do not have a single tree on this property.
Yet, year after year after year, between October and November, Lisa is out there with her leaf blower gathering leaves and bagging and mulching once a week.
She just spent over 3 hours out there last week tending to leaf maintenance.
Today, she's determined to do it again.
My sudden burst of disgust stemmed from a few things...
The first, the occupants in the house beside of us slacks when it comes to any type of yard maintenance. They mow their lawn 2 times throughout the Summer months and usually one last time in October...
This October that didn't happen.
They have a big tree in their front lawn that hovers over ours.
That tree is the culprit of our front lawn.
In that house resides 2 able-bodied teenage boys that are quite capable of mowing and raking. But, they don't.
So, when we get our wind storms in October and November, all the leaves blow into the front yard. This is why Lisa is out there every weekend raking and bagging and mulching.
The second, I think back to when Lisa and I were teens. Before we were old enough to get legal jobs, we helped our neighbors and beyond with yard work. That included mowing lawns, raking and bagging leaves, and shoveling driveways during the winter months.
We didn't ask for money or any type of compensation for helping out, but more often than not, the recipients were more than grateful for our assistance. Aside from a can of soda or a mug of hot cocoa and a plate of cookies, they were persistent about us accepting tiny wads of one dollar bills.
We saved and used that money for the extra stuff we wanted.
The last, since we moved into our neighborhood in July of 2012, I have grown increasingly disgusted with the number of elders doing yard work when I know damn well there are able-bodied teens and young adults either within those households or close-by.
What's happening here?
This morning, Lisa and I got into a battle of the witts because she's hellbent on tending to leaf maintenance after work.
She's sick. She's on an antibiotic. She's overtired.
But, she told me she wanted to get most of it done before the windstorm tomorrow.
Then, she'll do one last sweep.
Instead of entering into a battle against her stubborn forces, I told her that I was going to help her with the yard work.
At first, she firmly said, "No!" But then, I reminded her that I am just as stubborn as she is. Eventually, Lisa caved.
Shortly after she got home from work, I met her outside. She hooked me up to the leaf blower. It's one of the big leaf blowers that you wear like a knapsack.
While I used that, Lisa mowed, mulched, and bagged.
I have to admit, I felt rather empowered wearing the leaf blower and helping out with yard work.
When we got to the front yard, I had a bit of a "Towanda!" moment.
Don't ask.
When all was said and done, I felt pretty great. Being out in the fresh air doing yard work helped to alleviate my earlier disgust and frustrations. And, not only was the yard work done in half the time, but Lisa also didn't have to worry about doing it over the weekend.
Best of all, I had a little leverage in the form of her not being able to put up a fight when I tell her to rest this weekend so she can get better.
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