A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken. -- James Dent
"OMG, I think I cut some wiring to the house, LT.
I am freaking out. I had not just snipped this second, I had been snipping for ten minutes.
A covey of tenacious weeds had rooted themselves three inches in the dirt alongside to the house. Hell-bent on winning, I had declared war on these nutrient sucking bandits. I spent a few unsettling moments imagining what in the hell I had lessened to bite-sized portions. LT finally disclosed no wires ran on this side of the house. Saved, again.
LT mowed the yard; I pulled weeds in the flower beds. Three hours later we crawled up on the porch. We sat on the rockers to catch our breath before we finished our tasks. Reminiscing days gone by, LT told he used to charge $5 to mow a yard our size: $2 to mow the front, $3 to mow the back. Today, I can get a manicure and pedicure for the $40 landscapers charge to mow our yard; neither of us knows of a teenager willing to cut anyone's yard for $5 or $50.
LT reminded me he did not use the fancy equipment available today: no weed eater, no edger or blower. His lawn care equipment included a lawn mower and a pair of hands.
Laughing about life's drastic changes in lawn maintenance, I recall the afternoon LT came in the house shaking his head in bewilderment. He stood in the foyer, speechless.
Moments ago, as he finished our yard, our neighbor was pulling his lawn mower out of the garage. LT waved, thankful he was finished and not beginning.
Still shaking his head, LT described what he saw; our neighbor running around the yard, pushing the lawnmower.
This is a family joke, now. When we hear the lawn mower roar up next door, we look at each other and smile. J is beginning his run.
The secret to a healthy attitude about a midlife crisis is having someone to laugh with. LT and I sweat and laugh together in our yard every week.
About this Author
ridgely johnson, humor writer and instructor, was born and raised in the South. This lineage is interwoven in her hysterical stories of life; ridgely wants us to laugh through hard times, but most importantly, to enjoy fully those fall out of your chair laughing moments.
She and her husband, LT, enjoy those moments in Summerville, South Carolina.
She will always write her name in lower case letters (if she can get away with it!)
ridgely spends her days peering at life through her special pair of funny glasses. Always on the alert for her next story, ridgely loves to hear from her EzineArticle readers.
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