The Value of Role Reversal

So, Friday night I told Kevin that I would mow the lawn in the morning but he would have to watch the kids. He agreed. The whole reasoning behind me mowing the lawn was so we could go to Home Depot to get some edging to finish up our newest flower bed that is in our backyard. Trust me, offering to mow the lawn is a foolish deal. However, I did learn a valuable lesson.

You see, it has been amazingly hot here. Not just hot, but like blistering, disgusting, every time you go out side you are covered in your own sweat storm, HOT! With it being so hot we neglected to mow our lawn for at least three weeks to a month. When I went outside to play with the boys Friday, I felt like I was in a forest. No joke. Our grass weeds were that tall. So, it was inevitable that our lawn had to be mowed.

I woke up Saturday and put on my work out clothes and a brave face and walked out to the garage. I attempted to start the mower and to no avail, it did not start. Not until I noticed the choke. Once I figured out how to start the blasted machine I was on my journey of conquering the forest. Kevin always mows the outer edge of our lawn first, so I did that. It wasn't too bad most of it was a straight line except for the little curve around our flower bed in the front. Once I completed the "perimeter" of our yard I sought Kevin's approval to mow our front yard just straight instead of diagonal (like he does it) because I don't know how to do fancy. He said it would be fine and that I was doing a good job. I was probably half way done with the front lawn when the mower quit. It just quit! I had no idea what the deal was, and then it dawned on me to check the bag. Yes, our mower has a bagger on it and I had to empty it a million times! So I dragged the mower from the front all the way to the back and grabbed my husband for instruction of removal and emptying of the bag. But, he took to long so I figured out how to take it off and empty it; he arrived just in time to teach me how to install the bag correctly. I was off again and gradually tackled the yard, {front, back, and side}. I emptied several bags of grass and really disliked the whole process the whole time, but I made a deal right?

Once I was done, Kevin, my loving husband, reminded me that I had to still weed eat. WEED EAT! Are you kidding me? I just agreed to mow the lawn, not weed eat. I was not happy to say the least. After learning how to use the weed eater and tackling the yard once again. I took a small break for lunch. Then I finished up our yard by blowing all the grass out into the street. Thats right, I blew the grass into the street. It beats having to sweep it. I have a new love for blowers. Really, I do. Oh, and if you are concerned about the grass, don't be. It was very little when you compare it to the millions of bags of grass that have been dumped into my easement.

However, all of that story was just a background for you to really get at why I am actually appreciative of the terrible experience of mowing my lawn. While I was disliking life and the process of mowing, I jokingly told Kevin

"You should really love and appreciate me for all that I'm doing for you." 

He responded:

"You should appreciate me for doing it all the time"

And that right there was the kicker. I really didn't realize until I put myself in his shoes (literally) that he worked super hard just so our house looked nice. He has mowed our lawn for as long as we have lived in our house, almost three years. Most of the time in the spring and summer it has to be mowed once a week. He just sucks it up and does it, on top of working 40+ hours at a hard laboring job. Its amazing. I am so thankful that I have such a loving and dedicated man in my life who is willing to endure such labor intensive and tiring jobs just for us to live and for our house to look nice. I truly am blessed.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, I am not going to volunteer to mow the lawn ever again. However, I am sure that I will help out if it is ever asked of me.