A buzz job in honor of someone special added to my list of summer chores

If you catch me sneaking out of work early or not showing up at all on a sunny afternoon this spring and summer, it’s with good reason.

Since my father passed away late last fall, I have taken over the lawn mowing duties on my mother’s farm in McLeod County. And it’s no easy task, or shall I say short task. Granted I have a nice rider to buzz around the lawn on, but it takes at least six hours to complete. For me, that means blocking out an entire day to get the job done.

The first test of my lawn mowing skills came last Friday. Though it was mighty spongy from all the recent rain soakers we’ve received, I was able to make it through most of the lawn. I had to dodge a few large water puddles here and there.

I was breezing along quite pleased with myself that I hadn’t gotten the mower stuck when all of a sudden—well, you can guess what happened. I got buried in mud. I was cutting close to the edge of a field when the tires slid into the muddy ground. Thinking I could manage my way out of it, it only became worse, and I went farther into the muddy field.

Panic set in trying to figure out what to do. I had no dad to turn to as I have for many years. I was on my own whether I wanted to be or not. Mom was busy cooking in the house when I stopped her to help bail me out. Luckily, we found a chain in the machine shed and hooked it up to my Subaru. We had the lawn mower out in no time.

With only a slight interruption, I was back at it mowing once again. This time I kept an extra distance away from the edge of the field.

I’ll admit I shed a few tears as I mowed the lawn. It brought back many memories of what a thriving farm operation once had taken place on the farm with mom and dad working as a team. It also didn’t seem possible that Dad was gone and wouldn’t be caring for his yard like he had done up until the final mowing last fall. It had been his baby for 40 plus years after the kids were gone.

My dad took great pride in his yard. And I’m a little worried that I won’t be able to keep it up to his standards.

While mowing, I thought of a popular song by my favorite Christian music artist Casting Crowns, “Who Am I.” It goes in part, “I am a flower quickly fading. Here today and gone tomorrow. A wave tossed in the ocean (ocean). A vapor in the wind, Still you hear me when I’m calling. Lord, you catch me when I’m falling. And you’ve told me who I am. I am yours, I am yours.”

I think it captures how fragile life really is and that we aren’t long for this world.

But in the meantime, it’s up to us to make the most of it. And for me that means surrounding myself with family and helping out wherever I can.

Lawn mowing for my mom is just one of those ways I’ll be in hot pursuit of spending my summer.