My husband is amazing. He’s been laid off for 10+ months now and is working his butt off doing anything and everything he can to bring in even a little money. He’s been doing a lot of yard mowing and our own yard has been somewhat neglected because of that. Saturday, he mowed a yard and came home to do ours. He wasn’t done but the lawn mower was. It kept dying on him and so he gave up before he finished the front yard. He hasn’t had time to get to it since and the yard looks worse and worse every day.
So I had the bright idea to get out there and at least finish the front yard for him. I figured I could take the boys outside and let them play in the part that’s been finished, set Violet up in a swing on the front porch, and get it done. A nice surprise when he got home from his class this afternoon, right?
There’s only one snag…I’ve never operated a lawn mower in my life. Unfortunately, (well, I always thought it was fortunate until now!) I grew up in a house where girls didn’t mow. I’m pretty sure my mom has never mowed a yard and I was never expected to, either. All of my chores were inside chores. I figured it couldn’t be that hard, though. There’s just a button or something, right?
Wrong. I see no button. I see a pull string and some kind of throttle thing (I assume that’s what it is anyway!) on the handle and I don’t have the first clue how to work them. So I’m giving up on the idea for now, but I’m going to ask him to show me how to do it when he gets home. So maybe one day I CAN surprise him with a mowed lawn when he comes home from a long day, thinking he still has to mow.
Today, he’ll have to settle for having clean clothes and meatloaf (which he loves, but I’m not a fan of so I never make it) for dinner. And I’m also sticking a beer in the fridge for him…he’ll need it after he gets done mowing.
