Letter to the Editor: Outdoor chores
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What do you think about all the rain we have been getting? Or the question really should be, what do you think about how much the grass and all the weeds have grown because of the rain? My husband is slowing down physically and mowing the grass is an effort for him. He mows a little, then has to rest, mow, rest, etc. About 3 weeks ago our next door neighbor was mowing his front yard. I felt guilty ours needed mowed so I told him Charlie would get to it. Next thing I knew the neighbor was mowing our front yard. I asked what he was doing and he said, just helping out. I mailed a thank you card. It wasn't much of a thank you but it was all I could come up with at the time. This last week I caught our neighbor from the corner across the street mowing for us. Now him, we knew how to thank. Charlie asked me to bake a batch of our neighbor's favorite cookies for him.
Charlie checked and found a fellow who will trim and mow for us at a reasonable rate. He will start taking care of the yard for us in the next few days. I've never really had to worry about the yard except a time when Charlie was in the hospital years ago. He has always taken care of it and I took care of my flower beds. I no longer can get down to weed them so this year the weeds and grass took over. What I used to take such pride in, now is an overgrown mess. In the spring I had lots of daffodils, some crocus, tulips, and other spring flowers come up on their own. This summer I wasn't able to plant any flowers though. I told the fellow to just cut it all down when he does the rest of the yard.
I heard of a couple who are choosing to sell their historic home in Parkersburg because it is so much work to keep the home in good repair. Taking care of our homes is a letter for another day.
To continue with my original thought; have you ever considered how much work keeping a nice lawn can be? Do you have elderly neighbors who struggle to take care of their yards? I have to admit, when I was younger I never thought of what my older neighbors went through. Most of them were lucky enough to have grown children who could come by to help out. Our family is so busy I hate to have them help, although I know they would if they knew. We like to be as independent as we can for as long as we can so I'm not going to let them know. If you are younger, please be considerate to older people you know. If you are one of the older people, consider trading favors (like baking cookies) or plan ahead and hire help with outdoor chores.
As always I hope you are healthy and happy until I write again.
Bonita (Bonnie) Eaton
Vienna