Green Velvet

Yep. That's right. It's spring and around here that means our grass is emerald green and oh so lovely. A few years ago we decided to invest in Chem-Lawn to spray the yard; we aerated; we seeded. We did it all again. And it has paid off. Each spring we get repaid with a lovely carpet made of green velvet.

So, here it is:

Onto other exciting news-of-the-outdoor variety...

I learned how to mow about 3 summers ago. AND I LOVE IT. I grew up with 3 brothers and my family kept to very traditional roles (boys outside, girls inside) so I never had to do much in the way of yard work. However, my interest in mowing was stirred a few years after we had kids. Michael would be gone all day to work while I was (by my choice, I admit) "stuck home" with the kids all day. (Don't let me fool you--I truly love what I do, but sometimes you do feel a little "stuck.") Then, he would come home and need to mow the yard(s) (we adopted my mother in law's yard after she moved to our subdivision a few years ago). I then had to stay indoors with the kids while he mowed.

I decided he was getting the better end of the deal! When you mow, you see, you get to be outside and nobody can bother you!! Mowing the front yard? "Kids--move to the back!" Mowing the back yard? "Kids--move to the front!" You can't hear anyone crying or asking for dinner and you don't have to wipe anybody's bottom while you mow. It's a WIN-WIN-WIN situation for a mom who's been at the children's beck and call all day.

Once I realized that, I fell in love with mowing. I'm not afraid to admit it. I truly love to mow. I mowed when I was 8 months pregnant. I mowed a week after I had a baby. I mowed in the heat of the summer and in the cool of the fall.

[complete aside: Will just cracked an egg on the dining room carpet. Pardon me while I clean up that mess.]

Anyways. This summer, I've had to give it up. We are too busy. I can't mow during the day because Will is in too much trouble without a watchful eye. John is involved in baseball and that takes up several nights a week, plus a good chunk of the day on Saturday. Michael has church meetings and works late often enough to interfere with my mowing needs.

So, we hired the neighborhood dude to mow for us & my mother-in-law. His lawn company maintains/mows all our neighborhood common space and he does neighbor yards as well. He came the first time a few weeks ago and did a stellar job, I have to admit.

Then we waited. And waited and waited. Yes, there were some weather issues....yet we waited through those and still no mower blade graced our lovely lawn. Our yard had the jungle look going on and we were probably one day away from getting a letter from the Homeowner's Association.

I started to lose sleep over this issue. Seriously. Ask my husband. I woke him up in the middle of the night a few nights ago filled with worry over the lawn company and how let down I felt. The next day I dropped a note in lawn dude's mailbox.....and so today was the day he chose to come. I watched out the window, wistfully, as they took over the chore I had grown to love. I was a wee bit jealous that they made it look so easy.

I'll bet you're now wondering what the downside is, right? It wasn't that I was missing out on the task that I enjoyed nor that it was costing us money. The downside is that I can't control when they come to mow....as in NOT DURING NAPTIME. Will's nap was cut short by about 2 hours when the two mowers, weedeater, and blower all powered up at the same time. So, I was left holding the bag on a very fussy baby for the remaining 6 hours of his day.

It's been a very long day.