Today, after picking Leah up from school, I started doing some yard work at home. My intent was to clean up this one embarrassingly jungle-like part of our yard that butts up against the neighbor's property. It really was quite bad. I always forget that part of the yard since it is out of sight (and out of mind) and end up needing a machete to get a handle on it. This season was no different.
Anyway...what started out as a one hour job ( since I do NOT intend to use my vacation time working my arse off!) turned into an all-day marathon of back-breaking but also very enjoyable yard work (I have come to realize that gardening and weeding are an excellent outlet for my control-freak nature...a few hours of perceived control over those plants (despite the fact that I can actually hear the dandelions taunting me and spewing their fuzzy seeds all over the place in an evil plan to rule the world) can be quite calming).
Before I had started the work, Ryan had told me and Leah to be sure that we stayed "hydrated". As soon as Leah heard this, she was on it and at the first moment the lawnmower turned off, she was standing on the deck shouting (threw a miniature traffic cone/megaphone) "Lyn Stadler! Please come over hear for your hydrating!"
I followed the sound of her voice and found her on the deck tending to what she called the "Sweet Heart Cafe". She had about 37 glasses, dishes, cups, bottles, and various liquids distributed and displayed on top of a cooler, complete with a water bottle stuffed with wild flowers we'd picked together in the yard. She met me at the gate and escorted me to my table and took my order. She then turned to her mad science kitchen and whipped me up a beverage that, as far as I can tell, was about 1 part Snapple, 3 parts water, 2 parts various debris and 94% dog hair. It was, of course, the best drink I'd ever had!
And so this continued all day from about noon until 4:30 pm. I worked until the sun and sweat got the best of me, sit at my table at the cafe, have a drink and enjoy the shade and a cool breeze, and then get back to work. Each time I returned to Sweet Heart Cafe, a new hostess/waitress had come to work and I would learn about her name, her children and her life....I made quite a few new friends.
There was Lena...46 year old mother of Jake and Joshua who were 59 and 9, respectively. There was Haley, a young mother-to-be. (Actually, there were quite a few pregnant ladies....a friend of ours told us today that she was expecting).
It was really nice to find a way to get some work done and get to hang out with my little girl and her creativity. I recommend this method for anyone who can...it made the yard work a LOT easier!
