When I bought my house more than five years ago, one of my first major purchases was a lawnmower. This being my first house and my first yard, I had never purchased major lawn equipment. I actually don't even remember my parents ever purchasing a lawnmower - I think they always got hand me downs from my grandfather.
I was a little nervous about the purchase - it was a similar experience to purchasing a car on my own for the first time. I felt as if I was invading "the land of men" by walking up to the Home Depot guy and asking about lawnmowers. When I asked for assistance, the guy kind of looked around, like he was thinking, "God help me . . . where is her husband?" When it became clear I was making this purchase, not my "man," he begrudgingly helped me.
When I told him what I was looking for - an electric lawnmower - he laughed out loud. He said, "You're kidding, right?" But he pointed to the three electric models on display. I thanked him and he left. I picked out my well-researched lawnmower choice and took it to my car all by myself. I loved my lawnmower - it looked like a smaller cute orange VW beetle, with a handle. I proudly mowed my back yard and then drove to the front, trailing the 150 feet of orange extension cord behind me. And the neighbors stopped in their tracks to stare at me. Who was this girl with her electric lawnmower??
I've gotten all sorts of questions over the years. The most common one is, "Why?" My answer is, "Several reasons." First of all, I have a fear of fire and all things extremely flammable. This is part of the reason I bought a brick house. The thought of having a can of gasoline sitting around freaked me out. Second, electric lawnmowers are quieter than gas mowers. Third, it was cute. (That reason doesn't earn me much respect among the guys.)
The best question I ever got was, "Don't you ever run over the cord?" My next door neighbor and his son-in-law asked me that question. I replied, "No - it's sort of like vacuuming. You don't run over the cord when you are vacuuming, do you?" I got blank stares in response.
I am sure some of my neighbors still point and laugh when I mow the lawn, especially the older men who think women shouldn't really be mowing the lawn anyway.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
14 comments:
Geez, The Usual Suspect and I just had this debate (gas v. electric) a few weekends ago when the gas mower finally quit running. I wanted electric, he hates the cord. I said then I could actually mow the lawn once in a while, he said he likes to mow and I do everything else so he needs to at least mow. I said, ok, fine! Until he gets me an electric mower, it's his job! I should have used the comparison of the vacuum cleaner cord, but he doesn't vacuum, either.
I must admit I have never mowed before. Ever.
Even when my husband has been away, I shell out the $ to pay a neighbor boy (and now my own boy does it). Similar to GA, I figure I do almost everything around the house, so it's nice to have one thing that is the hubby's responsibility. (Even though the inside/outside work divide does rub uncomforatbly against my femininist ideals).
Well, don't let my comment lead you down the wrong path -- I STILL have to weed eat, edge and blow (leaves and grass, that is!) I also take care of the backyard and all the dog mess. So really, he does JUST MOW! Oh, and takes the garbage out. But that's ok with me, it's good exercise, and means he has to have a heavier caseload to make more money so I can buy my electronics and stuff for taking care of the homefront. :)
Our previous neighbor used to mow his lawn with an electric mower, and I couldn't understand why so one day I asked him. He said it was for the environment. Okay... And as I pushed my stinky gas mower around the yard I thought of how I was polluting the air. I always watched to see if he was going to run over the cord because you ought to see my vacuum cord all bandaged up with black electrical tape.
I like to mow the grass, the only problem is I can't start a gas lawn mower - perhaps my arms are freakishly short. Several of my attempts have left my hands blistered. So I have to get my husband to start it for me and then he usually ends up mowing... I am thinking about getting an "old-fashioned" mower. They are coming back into fashion and the "deluxe" model is only $69.00. Our neighbor has one and he appears to be running when mowing, so I'm not too sure if its very easy to use.
I have a half acre in my back yard...(more about the newest tragedy of my house in my newest post) so anyway...I have to mow it myself. It sucks. Its REALLY sucks. So when my kindly neighbor with a tractor saw me struggling in the July heat to mow the entire thing, he has since mowed mine for me... wonderful, excellent. whew.
Jadedgirl
We have an old-fashioned reel mower! No gas, no electricity, just manpower. Or womanpower when the situation is desperate.
(Eyebrows is fairly allergic to grass.)
I guess it's up to me to leave the token 'male' response. This post is quite timely because just a few days ago I went out and bought a new mower. A nice shiny red one. Gas, of course.
G.A.- if you ever feel like mowing my yard, come on over! I enjoy the first mow of the season, but that's about it. My wife mows the yard a few times a year; just to prove to me that she's not a weenie, I think (no offense meant, Jennifer.)
She'll weed occasionally, but neither of us really enjoy that part either. Weeding to me means pulling out the bottle of RoundUp.
As far as the rest of the household chores, we split them fairly evenly, but she knows I hate to sort laundry. I don't mind doing laundry, if she doesn't mind folding the dry ones that I threw into a heap in a bucket.
Being single, sometimes I forget that people get to split household chores. I get the pleasure of doing all chores, inside and out, unless I pay someone else to do it. I pay someone else to do the basic bi-weekly cleaning.
My favorite chore? Laundry, especially baby laundry - it's just so cute!
My least favorite chore? Cleaning the cat litter. To bad the cleaning lady won't do that!
By the way, once I was old enough, I always mowed my parents' lawn. When I left for college (and my brother logically would have been old enough to do it) my parents hired someone to do it. Fair? I think not. The consequence - I know how to mow the lawn and my brother doesn't.
I mentioned the other day that we should hire a cleaner. The response I received- "cleaners dust, scrub and vacuum, they don't pick up the kid's toys and put them away or reorganize the bookshelf or clean out the mess of clutter under the bed."
Me:"So, we'd have to clean our house before the cleaners came? What's the point?"
"Exactly"
I admit, I do not like the morning scramble on cleaning lady day to put away all of the crap I have so they can actually clean. My cleaning ladies have a policy that they do not open closet doors. That's a good policy, because they might be killed by the mountain of stuff I have shoved in each closet falling on them.
And I will add, I would much rather pick up clutter than clean the bathroom, which the cleaning ladies do. So, it's worth it.
Make you a deal; I'll clean your bathroom if you come to my house and pick up all the clutter.
Speaking of opening closets and having things fall on them, back when we lived in an apartment, shortly after being married, I opened the hallway closet door to get a towel when a cake plate fell on my head (thick glass thing that holds a cake above the table with a big heavy glass lid for cake display purposes.) It was on the top shelf and knocked me unconscious; I ended up getting stitches once we were able to convince the nurse that my wife was not abusing me.
PH- you'll appreciate this- it was one of those useless wedding presents. Why do you think it was on the top shelf of the linen closet!
I don't think that's a fair trade. There are only 2 people living my house but 6 people in your house.
Plus, I don't think you really want me to clean your clutter. I once did a "Clean Sweep" on my best friend's apartment (sort of by force because I couldn't find a place to sit). I made her cry. And she was a grown-up. I wouldn't want to make your kids cry.
Post a Comment