Let’s talk about mowing for a minute.
Mowing is honestly something I always want to hire a junior high kid to do because it takes a lot of time. There are better things I could be working on than cutting grass. Until now…
It Started as a Gift
This past summer, we decided to get my father-in-law a riding lawn mower. He loves to mow his yard, he is getting older, and really, who has time to mow a second yard in addition to their own? The first week we had it, he was leaving town for his annual trip to North Carolina with his friends, so I needed to mow the yard. I figured out in my schedule when I would have time to do it, got the babysitter lined up, and got on the mower.
They keychain on the mower key is all I needed to see!
“Kids and mowers don’t mix. Keep children safe and supervised.” It was like the heavens parted and the angels came singing right there as I was sitting on the mower! For all these years I wasn’t seeing the gift I was being given in mowing my yard!
How have I not thought of this before?
Kids and mowers don’t mix and it’s automatic “quiet” time for mom! Ahhhhhhh……the realization that I will have at least 60 minutes and longer if I go really slow for me to think, no one asking me questions or tugging on me or seeing another toy come out…just me! How have I never noticed this gift before? Now, don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love my three children, but 60 minutes where it’s not safe for them to come around me? Yes, blessing accepted!
Looking for Every Opportunity to Mow
So, as you’ve imagined, my father-in-law hasn’t had the opportunity to get on the mower and mow his yard because I watch it like a hawk and at the first instance I ask “Does the yard need mowed?” I’m all over it! There are places where the riding lawn mower can’t get to as well, so he loves to get his push mower out and get those places and then clean up with the trimmer.
It’s a win-win for both of us! He gets to still enjoy his love for mowing and his yard and I get 60 minutes of child-free time to think and do-nothing sanity time!
Take it From Me
My advice to you: if you aren’t on mowing duty and someone else is, I highly recommend “asking” if you can do it for them one week. See this time with your mower as a chance for you to think, be, and let your mind wander to where ever it wants to roam. Pretty soon you too may have a new found summer hobby in your yard.
Join the Sanity Sisters Mowing club, you’ll be glad you did!
*this post was originally written in 2019 and updated in 2023
