He's A Yard Man!

He's A Yard Man!

Na Na Na Na Nannanaaa

He's A Yard Man!

Thank you , Blues Brothers!

Recently, I was with a teacher, out for the summer, who was asked what he was doing with his time.  He talked about how very, very busy he was, with yard projects, and with straightening out the house.  He made it sound like it was overwhelming and he had no time for anything else.

I am also familiar with a couple, who on Saturdays, the man would go out into the yard and work virtually from dawn until dusk on the yard, while his wife was inside reading.  He would come back in with disgust that she had been just inside reading, a "worthless activity", while he was outside doing the yard-work, a "worthwhile activity".

And my own parents, once they retired to a lakefront home, would always be able to tell me the many, many tasks that they would do each day to maintain their home, particularly my Dad with the yard-work.

In my own world, the yard is not quite so demanding.  We have an acre lot, so it is not really teeny tiny.  I mow it, not as often as some of my neighbors, but the job does get done.  We have pine isles that are left natural.  We have some plants and flowers that were put in, mostly selecting those that were very low maintenance.  We have periodically tried to grow some vegetables.  Right now we are attempting some sweet potatoes.  But it doesn't take us endless hours to do.  It doesn't consume our lives.

So when I hear other people talk about how much time they spend in their yards, it makes me worried that I'm doing something wrong.  We do not have a yard that would warrant inclusion in Better Homes & Gardens.  But neither do we have one that looks junky or abandoned.

I can conclude two things.

First, there are some people who spend a lot of time in the yard, not out of complete necessity, but because they enjoy it.  It brings them pleasure and satisfaction of a job well done.  I have no problem with this.  I think it is a great thing. But, like in my second example, about the husband dissing the reading wife, chill out!  You have your hobbies - the thing you enjoy, and so does she.  To say one is more worthwhile than the other is ridiculous.  As long as she also gets some sort of exercise in some way, what is the big deal?

Second, I think there is a tendency in our culture, at least the parts that I am familiar with, where it is impossible to tell people that you really aren't doing much of anything.  We are a work ethic society.  Down time is not a respectable to tell people.  So when they ask us what we're doing, we feel like they look askance at us. We must list some project where we're rebuilding or remaking something, or we could be seen as lazy no-goods.

With my revised schedule, I am spending more time trying to write, increasing my blog presences, working on a novel, organizing stuff to sell on eBay.  Yes,I also take care of the yard, help around the house, do the things necessary to keep a house and family running well.  But we all find joy and happiness in different things.  We all need to stop and smell the roses (some of us whom have carefully planted and pruned our own).  Let us all have respect and appreciation for the myriad of ways people spend their time, activities and non-activities.

I do need to increase my walking and exercise time, however!