Zen and the Art of Mowing the Lawn

Hi, my name is Amy and I'm a spoiled housewife.

For the past year we've had a landscaping service come and cut our lawn. It all began last year in Morgantown when the house went on the market. SOB didn't have the time to maintain the yard up to 'house for sale' standards, so we caved and got it taken care of. Once we moved into the new house, we only needed the grass cut a few times before fall, and so we found a crew to do it. Then they kept at it in the spring.

And then last week I "fired" them.

I say that in quotes because I didn't do away with them entirely, just for lawn mowing. They keep weed whacking my flowers, and the prices change arbitrarily, and SOB's side job is going to slow down soon, so he should have more time for things like yard work. He admits to actually liking yard work, in fact.

Now since it was father's day weekend and all, and considering the overgrown hedges surrounding our property, I offered to mow the lawn on Saturday while SOB hedge trimmed. Had he done both he would have been at it for hours. So we got out the mower and he filled it with gas and I was off. (Well, after a short lesson, since I had never before mowed a lawn. I attempted it once in Philly, but didn't even make it halfway through, and our yard was a postage stamp, so it doesn't count!)

An hour and half (and 840 calories) later, we had a lovely, manicured looking lawn and freshly trimmed shrubbery. Was it fun? Not at all. But it was strangely satisfying. Like vacuuming but with more noticeable results. You're just alone with your thoughts, trying to make nice straight lines and not run over any bees. It's a good time for contemplating and self reflection.

My parents were in the pool with the kids (who were learning to do all sorts of cool tricks) while we toiled, but that made jumping in afterwards feel even better. I don't think I'll be on the regular schedule for lawn care, but I think I can manage being a fill in from time to time. Whenever I need to clear my head.