Grace

You may be aware that I am not a graceful person. Given the chance to trip, run into something or otherwise chance injuring myself, the odds are good that I will do so.

(And now you are wondering how I manage to ski downhill without finding every slick spot and tree, aren't you? That's okay, I wonder that myself.)

This weekend I did something related to yard work for the first time. Something I had not been allowed to do growing up, but had always wanted to do. Furthermore, something I had expected DH to do as part of his outside duties but which he had not done for longer than I would have liked.

It's not cutting the grass. I've done that both on my parents yard with their now dearly departed old Snapper (I loved that lawnmower) and with a self-propelled push mower on our yard. DH stays on top of that job pretty well using the riding mower we bought after DH took over mowing the yard. (Go figure.)

But it was something involving a power tool.

A power tool I had taken the initiative to purchase a few years back when the issue of the particular duty first raised its head.

(Has there been enough build up? I could drag it out further if you really wanted me to...)




Uncle! My arm has been twisted enough.

I used a electric hedge clipper for the first time ever. And wow, what a rush! What was taking me roughly FOREVER to accomplish with a pair of hedge shears, took approximately .005 seconds with the power tool.

Sure the job wasn't as perfect, but what did I care? The bushes look okay from the street which is what really counts, and I was playing instead of working. (Lest I make it sound like there were a lot of bushes to take care of, there weren't. Only six total and I did four one day and 2 the next. There are more to face in the fall when they aren't blooming and the bee's and wasps aren't partying hearty with the flowers.) Even more amazing, I had so much fun with the clippers that I DID NOT EVEN MIND CLEANING UP THE CLIPPINGS.

That's in all caps because it is a BIG DEAL. As a kid it fell to me to do the clean up as my parents trimmed the bushes and I loathed it. Most likely it was one of the main reasons I hated yard work growing up. But facing cleanup as part of the job, when I got to participate in the fun, that wasn't so bad. Even, dare I say it, somewhat satisfying.

I even managed to not injure myself while using said tool. So there's one element of grace. The other was the realization that using the electric clipper and then cleaning up my own mess was pretty adult of me - even if no one else recognized it, I felt it. And it felt pretty great.