Otherwise known as my conflict over mowing the lawn.
A Real Reel
When we bought our house we opted for a reel lawn mower over the traditional gas-powered mower or a quieter electric mower. The reel mower isn’t your grandfather’s lawn mower (in my case, grandmother’s), it’s made by Fiskers and is the definition of environmentally friendly and neighborly (completely silent! I could mow at 6am and no one would care except for me.).
It takes a fair amount of effort to use though… it’s actually a really good workout… legs, arms and core if you do it right.
I got home early one evening last week and decided to mow the lawn (not my normal chore) and set to work. I enjoyed mowing the lawn. But here’s the problem…
The Real Neighbors of P Street
While mowing the front yard, I noticed the neighbor’s 10ish-year-old son riding his bike past my yard, turning around in the neighbor’s driveway and riding past and saying “Hi” every time. I noticed that the bike traffic among the under-10 crowd and stuffed tigers had increased, along with the salutations and compliments of my “cutter.” It was distracting and annoying, then it dawned on me…
The kids in my neighborhood think that I’m a kid in my neighborhood and can’t quite understand why I would prefer to push around the awkward yard “cutter” instead of pick up a bike and ride around with them and Tony [the Tiger].
It’s funny, the gossipy old ladies of the neighborhood love to talk to Brad. To the point that my neighbor squeezed herself under our awning with Brad while he was grilling in the rain in order to share neighborhood news.
What are your neighbors like?
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