Over the past year, we have become part of an elite group of Californians who do something few others can - our own yard work. It's so cheap here that it's easy to justify getting a service, but Ty and I decided that we really enjoy doing it ourselves and our yard's never looked better. Like other tasks we divide and conquer when it comes to the yard. Tyler is primarily in charge of taking care of the grass, and I'm primarily in charge of the flower beds. We live on a 6,000 square foot lot, so it really doesn't take that much effort, unless I decide that I feel like planting. One of these days I'll post some pictures of our work.
People sometimes ask how I learned to garden. I don't really have an answer for that, because I still don't know what I'm doing. I usually stumble upon plants I like and stick them in the ground. Most of the time I end up moving them to different spots until they flourish or die. I also follow this pattern when it comes to decorating my house.
Yesterday, I was blowing leaves and sticks and such from the planting beds and started getting really frustrated. As fun as a leaf blower is, you can easily make a bigger mess if you're not careful. It's OK for a quick pass through the yard, and for cleaning off porches and patios, but sometimes there is no substitute for a rake. Sure, a rake takes more effort and time, but nothing is better at clearing out all the old garbage that collects around and under the plants. I'm always surprised with how much I dig out, and afterwards how fresh and renewed it looks.
As I was contemplating the genius that is the rake, I couldn't help but think about the correlation with life. We can make quick efforts to deal with personal issues, work, and relationships, but sometimes there is no substitute for taking the time to really dig in and do the work that needs to be done.
Here are some examples of what I'm thinking:
You can spend time managing your kids, or you can spend time interacting with you kids.
You can go to church, or you can take the time to ponder and practice your beliefs.
You can show up for work everyday, or you can....Ok, you get the idea. And I have to say that I'm definitely guilty of leafblowing my way through much of life, but on occasion I try to pull out the rake.
6 comments:
well put - and by the way, you really do have an amazing garden and yard. great job - hooray for doing you own - and for the rake!
Love this, Mindy. Not only does this resonate on a completely literal level (have been putting off dealing with our yard while also putting off calling a gardener to help me deal with it) but I know I'll be thinking of your analogy to "dig deep" in all I do this week. Thanks!
Hey mind.. I think one of my kids hid my rake:)
That was so profound I am still coming up with analogies in my own head...
I had my first and awful experience with a leaf blower a few weeks ago. I was sooo excited and then I blew a messs all to heck around my yard. I actually created more work for myself. Rakes? Yeah...fundamental.
p.s. I should have said - Angie's mom.
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