Spare Me From My Lawn, Please.
Well the weather here is turning back towards the warmer part of the spectrum. All around my neighborhood, you see a little green creeping into the lawns. Which brings me to my rant for today.
My husband R had always wanted a house. He bitched about how he had no garage where he could work on cars, he wanted to "save for the future," etc. All the standard stuff associated with home ownership. So as soon as we found out about the Moosh's impending arrival, we started looking in earnest for a house. We finally found one (it only took us three years) and moved in a month before the baby was born.
Unfortunately, a house comes with a yard, and everyone hates yard work. Especially this family.
Since I was eight months pregnant when we moved in (in May) and I had the baby in June, all of the yardwork for the summer of 2003 fell to R. He did a good job. He mowed, raked, and edged, and the yard looked good.
Fast forward to 2004. In June, we started the offical process to purchase the business. We were both busy. I was still working the night shift, and trying to get enough sleep, and taking care of a one-year-old in my non-sleeping/working hours. He was meeting with bankers and investors and all that good stuff, and the yard work started to get pushed to the back burner. It still got mowed once in a while, but at one point during the summer I realized that they yard was getting pretty high. I figured R was busy and would get to it eventually.
He didn't. I came home one day to find a notice from the city on the door stating that if we didn't mow the lawn by the next day, we would be fined. I was livid. R wanted the house, and the yard was HIS responsibility. I called him on his cell, and he informed me that he "didn't have time" to mow any more, and that I was my job now. Of course I hit the roof and started screaming about how I was working the night shift and had a baby and I couldn't even take a shower, much less mow the lawn. He didn't care. He came home to baby-sit and I mowed the lawn. I think the lawn only got mowed about three more times that summer. It looked like crap.
To add to the problem, since we weren't taking care of the lawn, the local ant population decided to set up shop. We had mounds every five feet and they were all over the house, except, amusingly, the kitchen. The kitchen was ant-free. Yay. The poor baby had ant bites all over his pudgy feet. R had bites all over his legs. I hate ants. It sucked.
Now, as the weather warms up, I realize that someone really is going to have to take care of the yard this year. It won't be R, since he is working 12 hour days 7 days a week. I thought that I could do it, but now I realize that I won't be able to find a babysitter for the time that I need (7-10:30 AM one day a week). My sister, bless her heart, just looked at me and said, piteously "I'd have to get up at, like, 6 AM." So I have come to the conclusion that I will probably have to hire help with the yard and insect issue this year. It is going to be horrendously expensive. I have emailed around for some quotes, but when I look at the list of services and realize that we need like, ALL OF THEM, I can just visualize my credit card bill expanding.
We should have bought a condo. We should be Yardless Yuppies.
My husband R had always wanted a house. He bitched about how he had no garage where he could work on cars, he wanted to "save for the future," etc. All the standard stuff associated with home ownership. So as soon as we found out about the Moosh's impending arrival, we started looking in earnest for a house. We finally found one (it only took us three years) and moved in a month before the baby was born.
Unfortunately, a house comes with a yard, and everyone hates yard work. Especially this family.
Since I was eight months pregnant when we moved in (in May) and I had the baby in June, all of the yardwork for the summer of 2003 fell to R. He did a good job. He mowed, raked, and edged, and the yard looked good.
Fast forward to 2004. In June, we started the offical process to purchase the business. We were both busy. I was still working the night shift, and trying to get enough sleep, and taking care of a one-year-old in my non-sleeping/working hours. He was meeting with bankers and investors and all that good stuff, and the yard work started to get pushed to the back burner. It still got mowed once in a while, but at one point during the summer I realized that they yard was getting pretty high. I figured R was busy and would get to it eventually.
He didn't. I came home one day to find a notice from the city on the door stating that if we didn't mow the lawn by the next day, we would be fined. I was livid. R wanted the house, and the yard was HIS responsibility. I called him on his cell, and he informed me that he "didn't have time" to mow any more, and that I was my job now. Of course I hit the roof and started screaming about how I was working the night shift and had a baby and I couldn't even take a shower, much less mow the lawn. He didn't care. He came home to baby-sit and I mowed the lawn. I think the lawn only got mowed about three more times that summer. It looked like crap.
To add to the problem, since we weren't taking care of the lawn, the local ant population decided to set up shop. We had mounds every five feet and they were all over the house, except, amusingly, the kitchen. The kitchen was ant-free. Yay. The poor baby had ant bites all over his pudgy feet. R had bites all over his legs. I hate ants. It sucked.
Now, as the weather warms up, I realize that someone really is going to have to take care of the yard this year. It won't be R, since he is working 12 hour days 7 days a week. I thought that I could do it, but now I realize that I won't be able to find a babysitter for the time that I need (7-10:30 AM one day a week). My sister, bless her heart, just looked at me and said, piteously "I'd have to get up at, like, 6 AM." So I have come to the conclusion that I will probably have to hire help with the yard and insect issue this year. It is going to be horrendously expensive. I have emailed around for some quotes, but when I look at the list of services and realize that we need like, ALL OF THEM, I can just visualize my credit card bill expanding.
We should have bought a condo. We should be Yardless Yuppies.
posted by Lisa C. @ 5:48:00 PM
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