« Blind as a Gifted Photographer | Home | Chomp! »
Keeping Track of the Edges
By Scott Harrup | June 17, 2008
With record rainfall lately, it’s been a challenge to keep my yard mowed. Even a weekly journey across the green is stretching the limits of acceptability. Every 1.7 days would be better, but who has that kind of time? So this was not a good year for my weed trimmer to go on the fritz.
It had served me faithfully for 20 years. But the last time I took it into a local shop, the technician told me it wouldn’t be worth another attempt at repairs the next time it died.
“Just run it into the ground,” he advised.
Over the past several mowing seasons, I did just that. This spring it refused to start.
You know how one “to do” on your list can just hang there? Everything else is stacking up, you barely have time to do the necessities, and that nagging item remains in limbo? That was the case with my weed whacker. I figured I’d replace the spark plug, in case the repair was that simple. But the next weekly mowing session would roll around and I still had not gone out and bought that plug.
Ever tried to “edge” a yard with garden sheers? There are probably Tibetan monks who would find some sort of meditative benefit in such a project. I just got a sore back. And the yard began to look really scraggly around the perimeter.
All the while, the old trimmer lay on the garage floor, the blackened plug sitting in a wad of paper towel next to it. Finally, last Saturday, with another mowing session ahead of me, I went to the local auto parts store and bought a replacement plug. The result? Not even a sputter.
I did what millions of hardy, self-reliant homeowners do when a vital piece of equipment needs skilled mechanical attention. I went to Wal-Mart and looked for the most reasonable replacement I could find.
Bliss.
Until I got that trimmer, it didn’t matter if I had cut my grass every day. The shoddy edges ruined the rest of the yard.
And that has me thinking about anything on the “edges” of my life that might be ruining a lot of hard work in other areas.
Topics: Family Life |