I never thought a lawn mower could bring me closer to my family and neighbors. Yet there I was, standing in the middle of my driveway surrounded by metal parts. The instructions might as well have been a coloring book, all pictures and no words. A simple purchase turned into a journey of connections. It began with a phone call to my cousin.
On my way to the store, it occurred to me I knew nothing about lawn mowers. But I knew who did. Do you know someone who seems to be good at everything and a real manly man? Well, that is my cousin; I swear he eats weights for breakfast and knows all things MAN! I called him and told him I wanted to get a lawn mower today. He congratulated me on 'doing man stuff.' After explaining the situation, we agreed I would get a gas lawn mower. He rushed me off the phone; it was 8:15 am and he had arrived at someone’s house to help them move. You know, manly stuff! Feeling more confident, I headed to Lowe’s to embark on my lawn mower buying adventure.
After browsing the aisles, I found a gas-powered lawn mower in my price range, which was under $400.00. We agreed upon gas in case I had to do some man stuff like fix it if it broke. If I purchased an electric or battery-operated one, I’d have to take it to someone else to fix; it was his logic. On the car ride home, I called my wife to send the boys outside to help me. I arrived with a sense of accomplishment, as if I had slain a bison and was bringing home the meat. I pulled into the driveway, and no one was outside to greet me. I did what any self-respecting man would do! I waited by the car until they came out to open the trunk. This was my moment, and I would indeed have it! Once the boys came out, they slowly walked over to the trunk and watched me open it. The younger two looked and disappeared. The oldest helped me take the box out of the car. I cut the box open and, to my relief, there were only four parts. After 15 minutes of struggling to put on two handlebars and two screws, I called my dad. He rejected my call. I turned to YouTube and watched some videos and still couldn’t figure out these four stupid parts.
A few minutes later, my wife came outside and asked, "You still haven’t figured it out? My wife put her Bob the Builder hat on and picked up the instructions. To my relief, they were no help to her either. But something about having her there gave me a renewed sense of energy. I wanted to prove I could do man stuff. I started trying different things, putting the handlebars in any hole they would fit in. Eventually, I figured out where they went. She looked at a picture of it online and figured out how to put the rest of it together. She figured out where the two screws went. And, how to close the gap between the bag and the bottom of the lawn mower. All from looking at a picture. I told her thank you and gave her a nice little smack on the butt. She smiled. I bet you were wondering where the boys were? They were lying in the car, complaining about it being hot outside. With the hard part done, it was time to put this baby to work.
After putting the finishing touches on the lawn mower and adding gas and oil. Our neighbor walked over; she reminded me of one of those Baptist church usher ladies. You know the type you dare not sit anywhere but where she told you. She said “getting ready to cut the yard?”. I told her the boys were going to start cutting our grass and how we waited for the lawn guy and he didn’t show. The neighbor asked our names. We have lived next to her for five months, and now that we have a lawn mower, she wants to know our names? I turned my head towards the lawn mower. After my wife introduced herself, I paused. I almost didn’t tell her. But then she mentioned she may need the boys to cut her yard, so I told her my name. I didn’t want to mess up a money opportunity for the boys. The more they make, the less money I have to give them. No, I'm playing. It turns out she is a sweet older lady who probably wouldn’t notice if someone robbed my house.
It was time to crank the lawnmower up. I broke the yard up into four sections so each boy could mow an area. I started on the first section and showed one of the boys how to work the lawn mower. Sand started flying in his face. That’s when I realized we should adjust the height of the mower. Side effects of living in South Carolina. At that moment, it hit me that I had never owned a home or had a yard to mow before now. Well, not mow, that is, for the boys! But it was still a proud moment. Of course, I'm going to have a learning curve. While each boy did his part of the yard, I gave an example, instructed, and stepped back to observe. They all did their parts quickly and efficiently. Something about telling boys no video games until their yard work is finished fires them up.
After I finished the work, my phone rang, and my dad was on the line. He told me he was giving blood, which is why he didn't answer. We discussed what happened, and I even sent him pictures of the boys cutting the yard. He used to make me mow the lawn, and now I am passing the mower to my boys. Dad delegation at its finest!
That night, as the sun dipped below the horizon, my wife and I stood by the window. She turned to me and said, “The yard looks great.” I smiled. For me it wasn’t really about the lawn or the mower—it was about all the people I connected with today because of it. I glanced at the yard one last time and thought to myself in my best Ice Cube voice, Today was a good day.