Yard work

I like gardening but usually at some point it ends up getting ahead of me and often times I am welcoming the more dormant phase of seasons so that I can cut down the straggling plants and plan for more dedication next year. This year I was concentrating on our trip to Ethiopia. Last year I was headed to China . . . a few years back I had pins in my hand/pinky and movement was limited. Yada, yada.

And since we returned from Ethiopia, Marty's job has taken a new dimension and he has recently found himself facing some meetings and conferences that have required him to be working longer hours and more days.

Some days I'm struggling to simply vacuum, dust, keep up with laundry and dishes (some days I don't struggle . . . I just don't do it - hehe). And we have over six acres. The garden around the house is not manicured (shoot I let one side go wild as well as back garden next to the detached garage). Just mowing is something that requires time and right now Marty is only here with the kids awake about two hours a day. Just logistics. It won't always be this way but right now it is simply what is. At times I'm feeling overwhelmed with the changing dynamics of family and the physical demands of the household, much less the emotional . . .

And I feel guilty because I can't help but think of the struggles here pale in comparison to the joys. I'm getting to witness and live the peaks and discoveries and such. He gets to come home when I'm tired and looking for his assistance and he's taking up slack here when he probably would prefer to have some time to simply chill.

Yet I digress. (You can at least ACT surprised) This spring we had the great mulch debate. I was planning on taking the 1 hour a day I utilized the year I was most successful at keeping the plants alive for the spring/summer/fall. I wanted to make sure I had plenty of mulch. I had a number in mind and Marty about choked. He was firm on his lower estimation. I am the gardener . . . I pleaded my case. He told me we could order more. I relented. And I was determined to move that mulch off the driveway and started in earnest.

I had my trusty wheelbarrow and each day I set a simple goal of 10 loads a day. I did it. I did good with weeding and mulching and within a week the front and one side of the house was complete. Marty was pleased. The mulch pile was lessened by probably half. I relished my accomplishment and planned to continue. It rained. I procrastinated. The wheelbarrow was moved back to the detached garage. I got interested in . . . anything but mulch and weeding.

So the other day Marty says something about we need to get the mulch moved before winter because it'll just make a huge pile of ice/snow that is blocking vital driveway in winter. And I knew he had a point. It was my project and I decided that I was going to get going on that mulch. I can do that with four children 5-1/2 to 2-1/2. There are no spinning blades or motors or such involved in the process.

And so this morning I began to assess the situation. I had some grass and weeds infiltrating but if I added more mulch to what I had done earlier this spring, I could make yet another major dent in that pile that the children love playing on. I began in earnest.

Now Paul and Samuel are very cold-natured and they only wear long sleeves and pants except when they are in their soccer gear. Mary is in short sleeves and shorts and Julia is in a sleeveless Packers cheerleader dress and we start our odd attempt at mulching. I'm sure we could have turned heads in our odd assortment of gear as well as skin tones.

I begin to shovel into the deep wheelbarrow and Paul squeals in delight. He is hovering all around me like a gnat, watching intensely and then begins to try to assist. He locates a child-sized wheelbarrow and soon is matching me move for move. He is so very eager to assist and have purpose. Samuel and Mary are intrigued by their bikes/trikes and Julia vacillates between work and play. She's still a mite displaced by not having Mary's attentions. She loves Paul and not sold on Samuel . . . . he's just a mite too close in age for her comfort level. Its a hoot though because when I come home from taking the older kids to school they immediate go for a "rest" and Samuel asks to sleep with Julia. She climbs up in Mary's top bunk but is adamant that he go to his room. Samuel climbs up in Paul's bunk and then they chatter back and forth for a good 15 minutes animatedly and good-naturedly.

So, there is only so much room to work in the first flower bed. It is situated between the garage and the front door and is almost a half-oval and still pretty filled with daisy, columbine, bee balm, hosta, etc. I am trying to work my way in without doing damage and every time I turn to scoop another shovel from my wheelbarrow Paul is right there and we are bumping. At some point I give him my short-handled shovel and I get a long-handled one. He laughs with delight at this most precious gift. Julia immediately decides she wants a hand spade.

And we work, this odd group. I attempt to make another entrance to this particular plot so we can both work. And with Paul's next load he is right there next to me. And as close as he is to me . . . Julia is to him. It gets so very, very comical. He keeps saying "Excuse me, Julia" and she doesn't budge. He'll ask her to move. She smiles and digs her hand tool in his wheelbarrow. They at times simply move their mulch to my wheelbarrow. He looks at me and rolls his eyes and simply picks her up and moves her over two feet. He is so gentle though and she doesn't protest. At one point Paul needs water and Julia goes in with him to retrieve their labeled water bottles. When Paul goes into the house to emerge shirtless later on, Julia comes out with her dress now removed. I had to stop her on that one (laughing) . . . but you get the gist.

And in the end? We did a pretty good job. We got the first small bed mulched and there is a portion of the mulch pile gone. We have a sense of accomplishment. Paul is a wonderful assistant and Julia adores him. He's my shadow and she is his. Weather was nice and I so very much enjoyed being outside and not having a battalion of mosquitoes attack me. We removed the hanging baskets. We took down shepherd hooks. We made progress as a family. We bonded.

And when Marty came home for a little less than an hour before having to head back out - it was Mary who was seeking accolades for all of her hard work and effort!