Why I Hate Yardwork

When I was considering becoming a homeowner, I only considered buying a house with a yard for about .02 seconds.  Then I realized how much I despised mowing.  And weeding.  And pruning.  And anything else that involves any sort of flora and/or fauna.

It obviously doesn’t run in the family.

To this day, my parents keep an immaculately groomed, perfectly manicured lawn.  My dad painstakingly edges around the sidewalk.  He mows with scientific precision.  He fights grubs and moles like a general going to war.  And in the fall, my folks go outside every ten minutes to ensure the lawn remains forever leaf-free.

I live in a townhouse complex where a lawn-service company does all that for me.  I haven’t lifted a finger in 10 years, other than to point out some overgrown weeds I wanted whacked in my back yard.  It’s the best money I spend all year (other than my cleaning guy, Kenny, but that’s a whole other blog.)

My folks take an immense amount of pride in how green and luxurious their lawn is.  Wish their neighbors could say the same.  A few houses harbor scraggly, overgrown bushes and/or a patchwork lawn motif.  I know it’s the bane of my dad’s existence, but he still somehow manages to get up every morning and forge on.

On my way to work each day, I drive by a house that’s perfectly landscaped right down to the perfectly cylindrical shrubbery in the front yard.  I’ve always vowed that if I see the homeowner(s) out doing yard work I was gonna stop by and give them props.  I think that would my dad happy — given that he beams whenever someone notices the effort he puts in to maintaining Sod Shangri-la.

My front yard is currently emblazoned with an array of flowers.  Well, at least until the first freeze in a few weeks.  It’s my claim to fame.  Couldn’t care less about grass, shrubs, bushes or trees … but flowers I can handle.  It’s therapy, I guess.  And while I like the smell of freshly cut grass as much as the next person, I just don’t want to be the person responsible for it.  And the best part?  I don’t have to feign epileptic seizures like I did when I was a teenager to get out of mowing the lawn or trimming the hedges.

Lord, do I despise hedges.

2 thoughts on “Why I Hate Yardwork

  1. Aaaww! 🙂 Hey M2! What a wonderful story! And props to your Dad for doing such a great job on his yard ! Yard work is hard work! 🙂 But very good for the mind. And it’ll probaly help keep your Dad feeling physically good for many years to come!
    Ok so,..you say you haven’t lifted a finger in over 10 years? But,…you do cook…..sometimes….right? HAHAHAA! jk, Have a great day sweetie! 🙂 Love your page! Hugs!((♥)):**

    Koko

  2. Michael Yes I truly do working in the yard. It is pure fun to get out there on my John Deere X324 (four wheel steering) and mow the yard or mulch the leaves.
    I have enjoyed it all my life and still do. I do not consider it work.
    It is an enjoyable pasttime to get outside and spend an hour or two taking care of the yard. I see the results and enjoy spending time with Mother Nature. Watching the Squirles and Deer. A while back there were 18 Deer in my back yard THIS WILL BE NO MORE . Thanks to a developer who is getting the zoning changed so he can build Apartments and Duplexes on the adjoining property. They change the zoning from residential to PUD Planned Unit Development
    Take care
    Dad

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