Grown ups

A few weeks ago, my husband and I had the chance to go with another couple to do some yard work for their daughter’s family. This family had been on the other side of the country for almost a year while the husband had military training. They had rented out their home with less than satisfactory results. So the four of us hoped that we could make the homecoming a little less overwhelming by doing whatever we could.


It was a pearly gray day which was perfect for us. Our usual weather is hot, dry and windy. We headed out early with 2 pickups loaded with everything we could think of. Although we had been told about the yard conditions, we were still shocked when we arrived. It had not been watered all summer which means grass dies, desert weeds flourish. It was a dry, dead, overgrown mess!

What happened next was little short of a miracle in these days but none of us thought much of it until later. Without a word to each other we grabbed our gear and went to work. My husband and I headed to the backyard. He worked the weed eater, I mowed. Then he used a pitchfork to pull up the beaten down grass and weeds, I mowed.

My girlfriend, who is suffering from a back injury, puttered carefully in the house and out. She was able to hold the hose to water the long dead flower gardens. She arranged the flowers we brought so we could plant them.

Her husband did the weed eating in the front and side yards. He also mowed.

We worked solid for four hours, stopping only for pee breaks and a drink. We didn’t say more than 6 sentences to each other during that entire time. We did a huge amount of work. It was pleasant!!

What we all found so amazing was that no one had to be the BOSS. We didn’t need anyone to tell us what to do. No one had to make a PLAN. We all knew what needed to be done. No one had to CHECK UP on anyone. We are all good workers.

Maybe it’s because we all know each other well. Maybe it’s because we’re all the same age. Maybe it’s because we all care about that young family. BUT maybe, just maybe that’s the way it’s SUPPOSED to work in an adult world. WOW- what a thought!

That’s the view from my side of the street, what’s yours?