I've blogged before about the lawn mowers in my life. (I'll get to the wise sister part of this story. It's just going to take a few minutes. ) Basically the idea is that there are things in my life that I need to use, but that I can't use for some reason or another. The lawn mower is one of those things; I'm too bloody short to start it. Alas, my grass grows just like everyone else's. I want to be a good neighbor and not have that house from which people politely avert their eyes. But not being able to use my mower makes it less than perfectly useful.
Being me, of course, I have to over-analyze everything and start using the lawn mower as a metaphor for all the stumbling blocks in my life. Do I buy a lawn mower I can start and learn to mow the grass? Will that be the empowering, good-neighbor choice? Do I hire some neighbor child to mow? Do I stand on a chair and start the lawn mower I do have? (And don't you just know how that story is going to end??)
So, last October I showed up at my sister's doorstep, bloody and broken from relationship drama. (Not literally bloody. Don't worry.) I'm sure she remembers those days, but I really don't. Can't. Won't. Whatever. But I do remember sitting out on her deck, drinking...something.... wine, probably. And her lawn was being mowed (mown? that sounds wrong, somehow)-and not by her. What a fabulous idea. She'd worked some deal with the service that mows the grass for the common areas in the subdivision.
Somewhere in my shattered mind, the idea took root. The house just south of me is a rental and they have a service mow the grass. What if I call them and ask them to mow mine at the same time? It is not the most cost-efficient strategy for a girl on a budget. But I can't tell you how wonderful it is not to have to wince and worry and promise myself that I really will -I mean it this time- get to the grass this weekend. It's such a treat to come home and see that my grass has been mowed and the edges trimmed. And they even put the lawn chairs back where they belong.
It's almost like having a pool boy, without the pool ;)
And, by the way, that sister is wise about other things as well. My other sibling are brilliant as well, but this one has recently started a blog. Go see: Nina.
5 comments:
Getting someone to mow your lawn is so awesome. If you want to get an easy lawn mower though, get an electric rechargeable. They are easy to start and quiet, don't use gasoline and don't pollute as much.
However you have to mow your grass before it gets really really long or they don't work as well.
I was a convert to a service after my husband was injured and could no longer do it. At first I took the task on myself, but I destroyed one mower by mistakenly draining the oil and then running it (after getting a neighbor to help me start it) and then I loaded it in my car to get repaired, didn't anchor it in my car, and it smashed out the back window in my station wagon.
So . . . .now I have a service and it's great!
I pay people to mow my grass. I'm not ashamed!
I love my electric rechargeable mower! I never mowed a lawn in my lie before I bought it, and it couldn't be easier to use. But if I had your schedule, Andrea, I would absolutely pay someone to mow my lawn.
I'm totally hiring someone to mow my lawn, well, when I get a lawn someday :) I hate that crap and I know that a certain someone would end up not doing it anyway. I'll make him pay for it :P
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