A Day's Work

September Days.


These days, a typical day starts just before 6:00 when I need to cook breakfast for husband and daughter. I feed the dog, have my coffee, take the dog for a walk and then come back for my breakfast. The laundry gets tossed in the machine and hung up before I go outside, so I do a little housework while it washes. Since the yard has to be completely re-landscaped, I spend the next 5-7 hours moving rocks, moving dirt, raking slopes, replanting grass, removing grass in an effort to make the yard simple, neat and maintainable. I cannot re-do it every couple of years – I am not getting any younger. Everything aches and I just want the yard to be something that needs an hour or so every other day. The new homes around here have concrete gardens, with a few potted plants or a tree on the side. I’m beginning to understand why. After feeding and walking the dog around 5 pm, I stop by to see if my mother-in-law needs a hand, do whatever she needs and then I get cleaned up and make dinner. Somewhere in between, when I take a break, I do some housework and wash dishes.

On the upside, I get really tired and can sleep well and I can see what I have done for the day – it gives me a sense of accomplishment. On the downside, there is no great purpose to what I do except to create a nice place to live. I will start searching for meaning once I get the yard cleaned up!