Yard Work

Tonight's words come from the heart of the greatest man in the world. The man who mows our lawn every Friday, and works hard to make our home look great. He is my best friend, my love, my husband.

(Daniel Noles)
When I was a child, growing up at my parents house, one of my spring and summer tasks was to cut the grass. When we first moved to the house, where my parents still live, the only thing we had at the time was a push mower. Now, to begin with, as a child I never really enjoyed cutting the grass. You sweat excessively, sometimes the mower would clog, checking the oil and putting in gas was always an after thought that only occurred when for some mysterious reason the push mower would slowly die. These, among countless other reasons, were just a few reasons I loathed having to cut the grass. That and the fact that we owned almost an acre of land. Yes, even you right now are thinking, I'm glad that wasn't me! My mother even stated to me that at one time I said I would have a yard full of concrete when I owned my own home just so I wouldn't have to cut it! Oddly enough, I think I recall actually saying that.

Fast forward 25 years and my how things have changed. NowI must admit that I don't look forward to mowing on a North Carolina summer day, when it's only 97 degrees and the humidity makes it feel like that of an oven ready to bake something. I still get upset at times having to deal with a lawn mower that doesn't want to start right away, and yes I did check the oil and gas first. However, I do enjoy what yard work has become for me. It's a time to return to the simple task of toiling the ground, getting dirty, and getting back to my roots of what really makes us who we are.
As I've gotten older, I appreciate more of what my parents and grandparents had to do to get to where they were or are now. Things weren't easy and if you wanted something you had to work at it. I'm sure they got frustrated, maybe let a bad word slip once in a blue moon, but they got in there and they worked at it. Besides the sweat, frustration, and dirty clothes, what else did they get from it? I believe a sense of accomplishment. A sense of pride and self worth. A better sense of who they were. A more refined sense of character.

Now I don't claim any form of supreme intelligence on my part and I certainly can't claim wisdom, but I do know that yard work can teach me, maybe us, a lot about who we truly are, what lies deep within us, and at the same time, a way to connect with our past that takes us into our future. I'll take that any day when it comes to doing yard work. You can't put a price tag on that friends!

Now, I think I'll go out and work in the yard tomorrow morning...maybe!