Mowing

When we got married, mowing was not, or ever would be, in my job description. Buck did the mowing. When the kids were old enough, they were delegated to the job using a Lawn Boy push mower. As I recall, Guy and Teresa mowed the most, Amy mowed one time only and for some reason, much to her brother and sisters disgruntle, I don’t think Kim mowed at all.

It would have been more cost effective if Buck had just hired the job to professionals. But, he was raised in an era where kids did the mowing using an old-fashioned push lawn mower that made a whoosh, whoosh sound. It was a rite of passage; so, our kids mowed.

I am thankful that this was strictly between Buck and the kids. I was at home the afternoon that the mower Guy was pushing, threw a rock at the new sliding glass door, breaking it into a million little pieces. It made a very loud sound when it broke and scared us to death; and death is what Guy thought he was going to get. Considering the price of the door, I am amazed that Buck was so very calm.

The next reason for hiring out the mowing, was the incident that caused Amy to spend a night in the hospital with an IV dangling from her arm. It was her first time to mow the lawn and she barely got started when she developed a blister on her palm. The red streak up her arm was evidence that the blister had quickly turned to blood poisoning. She was furious with her dad for making her mow in the first place, and it didn’t help that the nurse couldn’t get the needle in her small vein, but revenge can be sweet, she never mowed again. And, who knows how much it all cost? The price of a new mower, I am sure.

When we moved to the country, we had fewer kids at home, so Buck took over the mowing and purchased a shiny new rider mower. He claimed that mowing for more that three hours at a time, gave him time to contemplate life.

When he finished mowing, he was most often, hot and sweaty and covered with grass. I could follow his path through the house to the shower. Just like Hansel and Gretel he dropped his grass covered shoes at the door and his clothing up the stairs and down the hall. When I gathered it up, I was left with what amounted to a full load of laundry.

We had a beautiful new bedspread. It was made of blue quilted floral material, and I complained heartily when anyone would sit on it, or heaven forbid, lay down on it. Buck seemed to enjoy getting my dander up because, when he was done showering, he would turn the ceiling fan on full blast and lay buck naked on the new bedspread!

I think back on it and laugh now. I really would give anything to see him on that mower again.

Whoosh, whoosh…Betty