April 21, 2015

  • Today Was Supposed to be the Day

    There were smiles all around when the announcement was made. "Today's the day." I've been watching the yard green up and I knew that this was the last day this week that we could work in the yard. JJ gave a big fist pump and grinned from ear to ear and then promptly asked if he could drive the mower. He's been working on obedience without whining and he knew that he's making improvement. He also knows that he won't be allowed to mow, just drive around a bit after the mowing is done. That job goes to older brothers.

    During the morning each of the boys came to me and let me know which job they wanted outside. I've always done most of the mowing, but as they take more and more responsibility, I can take care of some other things (today I fixed the steps on the fort in the woods and sprayed weeds).

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    Justin set to work getting some of the equipment going. He and Jeremy took a small engine repair class last fall and have been itching to get some long-unused motors going. He had left the push mower in good shape and it started right up. The tiller which has been idle for years started but needs gas. The weed whip took more time.

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    JJ started out by getting the cart and filling it with sticks for the burn pile. The boys had already built quite a pile, but he found a couple of carts full of debris. Of course, he was watching as each piece of equipment roared to life. Soon he was pushing for all he was worth. The mower is self-driven, but still takes a lot of muscle to get it everywhere it needs to go.

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    The riding mower was the first piece of power equipment to be put away and Jeremy manhandled the gas-less and thereby powerless tiller back into place. I sent JJ for the cart and then we realized that even though today was supposed to be the day, it hadn't been. He pushed aside his disappointment with the promise that I would try harder to remember next week. I'm thankful that he was able to swallow his tears and that all three boys worked so cheerfully and willingly.