Simple Gratitude

I feel compelled to add a bit of gratefulness to the slice. Here goes...

My husband and I live on three acres of land, two of them are lawn mower cut. In an extremely frustrating moment last week (initially for hubby), our $4,000 zero-turn mower stopped working. Yes, I still cringe at the cost. It was not near our house where we keep it stored and out of the elements. No, it was all the way down (our property has hills) the biggest hill near our creek area. I was cleaning up the kitchen, heard the mower stop, looked out the window and there is my husband, Tim, cursing and staring at the mower.

Initially, it seemed to be a belt problem. It was detached from the mower. But the next (and bigger) problem was that of how in the heck we were going to get the mower back up the hill to service and shelter it. I will just say that was one of the most back-breaking exercises I have done in a very long time. With complete agitation, desperation, and willpower we were able (over a two hour time span) to push and pull the mower back to its landing pad. Quite a feat, but we knew we didn't have a choice.

Bear with me, I'm not at the grateful part yet. I will spare you the burden of the cursing, frustration and sweat of Tim having to try a new belt and it not work. Calling family members wasn't helpful because as I was talking to one, Tim motions me over and asks me to take a look at the right wheel. "It's crooked?!" I pronounce with defeat and question. Yes, the wheel frame was bent. Unbelievable. A fairly new expensive mower and the frame is bent. "Must have been the groundhog hole I hit the last time mowing," Tim declared.

At a loss, we stared blankly at the mower. I was thinking we just had several inches of rain and the word "thick" doesn't describe the grass in its current state. We knew without voicing it that this would be a major repair, if at all, and we still had many weeks of the cutting season upon us.

So, there's my backstory. My husband and I are now a few days after the initial crisis. As I sit here typing, there are two very helpful guys cutting our two acre yard. I am impressed with how they have cared for it today. I must give credit to a dear co-worker, a custodian at my school who hooked us up with one of his friends to get the job done. I am in complete gratitude mode for not only having someone like Jamaal help us out in a pinch, but for his friend Mike to take such pride in their work. I am grateful today!