YAAARD work!?!?!

Back when I was but a wee li'l boy kid, the worst thing ever—or so we thought—was having Dad tell us that we couldn't go out to play because there was work that needed to be done in the back yard. Whenever Dad had us get out the yard tools, I always thought, "YAAARD work!?!?!" And, hence, the title of today's post.

"YAAARD work!?!?!" meant weeds to be pulled, grass to be mowed, leaves to be raked, and all of it had to be put in the trash barrel. In Los Angeles, there were no city-issued yard waste bins back in those days. And working hard out in the hot sun was definitely no fun in the summer. For even less fun, my older brother and I got to do this work. I don't recall my sisters or younger brother being made to be a part of this forced manual labor brigade, but I could be wrong.

What's kind of funny is how I despised having to do this kind of work when I was growing up. It wasn't just because the work was tedious and boring. It was also because it took us away from what we really wanted to do, which was playing with our friends or going somewhere.

During the years in between growing up and when we rented a house, I didn't do any yard work because we didn't have a lawn. At the house we rented during most of the '90s, we had a small front and back yard to mow, rake and trim. It always felt good to get out there and do a little work. The yards looked so good all neatly mowed, and the smell of freshly mown grass was a nice perk.

Fast forward to now. We have weeds to be pulled, grass to be mowed and leaves to be raked. It has to be put in the barrel, but we have a city-issued yard waste barrel that is collected every Thursday along with the regular trash and the recycle barrel (every other week).

Whenever it's time to mow the lawn or do a little trimming, the words, "YAAARD work!?!?!" don't come to mind anymore. It feels good to be outside and give your yard something of a makeover. I have a corded electric mower that does a good job. It never needs gasoline and oil. It's not as loud as a gasoline mower and never puts out any smoke. The only negative thing is that I have to mind the cord or I'll run over it and the blade will cut the cord and everything shuts off. Without a cord, none of my yard tools work because all of them are electric. And I don't like having to stop everything for an impromptu trip over to Home Depot for a new cord. How do I know this? We'll just say that I have a little, um, experience...

Earlier today when I went out in front to get the mail, I took a good look at my front yard and realized that I've been putting off a session of yard work that desperately needs to happen. If I can get my body to cooperate, then I'll get out my tools and go at it. The weather is just right now, which makes it all the better.