Monday, June 18, 2012

Sticking It Out


This morning I was outside as the sun rose. But I didn't see the sunrise. I was busy.
You see, it is about million and one degrees already here in South Florida.
If you want to get your lawn work done with out somehow spontaneously combusting from the heat, you get up early and get a jump on the sun.
Oh, and I own a reel mower.


Yea.
That thing.
In order to beat the heat I must mow the lawn at 6:20ish am.
Right.
It takes me about 30 to 40 minutes cause the grass is wet and I don't care that is it.
As I was doing this task it occured to me...
I am really sticking this out.
I am not giving up and I am doing this green thing.
Many in our society today will not sacrifice if the reward is not tangible.
If the reward is that it benefits someone directly other than them, then chances are it won't get done.
See, even though I am rewarded with a nice healthy looking lawn despite my hacking
it when it's wet...it's not why I do it.
I do it because I want my world to be better.
Sounds sappy, I will admit but it is true.
Why else would this over 40 chubby lady be pushing a reel mower at 6:30 am?
I get nothing from this other than my lawn is cut.
But the satisfaction in knowing that I did not contribute to the demise of our planet today is an amazing feeling that should not be taken lightly.
It felt good.
It felt good to give back to no one in particular but everyone all at the same time.
It felt good to know SOMEONE will benefit in what I do at insane hours.
And it felt good to know that I was happy to benefit others, completely selfless act.
Most importantly it meant....
I am being true to what I am.
Who I am.
And what I believe in.
When you have that inside you then you can do anything for anyone.
Even push that piece of metal in the cool but humid morning air.



8 comments:

Rebecca said...

I would love to get reel mower. Do you have to mow more often with it?

Chele said...

Becca,
I thought I would at first but so far in South Florida summer only once a week. Normally with the gas mower we are doing it twice a week. :)

Sarah @ Natures Nurture said...

ok, 2 things. First, what? You live in South Florida?!? I grew up down there! We're actually down here visiting family for a couple more days before heading back up to Toronto. Crazy! Where about are you? I'm from all over Broward :)

And second, we have a reel mower too! And we love it. It's so nice and quiet - a stark contrast from our neighbors with their super loud gas-powered mowers chugging along every weekend. I can't help but to think that if those things are loud to us, what must all the little bugs and insects be thinking?!

Ok, so I guess it's actually three things, b/c I just wanted to thank you for linking up this beautiful post over at Tiny Tip Tuesdays. :)

Oh, #4 - no way you're over 40. so yeah, I refuse to believe that bit... ;)

Chele said...

Sarah, I am straight across from you in the Ft. Myers area! :)
And not only am I over 40....I will be 43 this year. Wahhhh. LOL

Sarah @ Natures Nurture said...

Wow, that's amazing, Chele! Good on you for looking barely 30 :)

And yay, you made a button! I'll go add it to my sidebar now. By the way, I updated both my buttons last week and made them a more standard 125px if you want to use those instead...that way they're more uniform with the others ;)

Chele said...

Sweet! I will be updating my button and yes, you inspired me to make a button. It was not nearly as hard as I thought it would be!

Charyse said...

You also gained a 30-40 minute workout...walking and pushing a mower burns a decent amount of calories for a good morning workout, which in turn produces positive endorphins to help you feel better throughout the day. Moreover, exercising boosts your metabolism, so for several hours after you mowed the lawn you burned more calories doing other everyday things than you usually do.

Way to go! Someday soon, we hope to purchase a reel mower!

Chele said...

Charyse,
I keep reminding myself of all the free exercise I am getting!