Clean Gutters

I got to clean out our rain gutters today! Yes, I did mean to write that with excitement! I love doing things like that. I got the ladder and my gloves and dug out leaves and debris that had built up over the past few years...this is a neglected chore. I have never cleaned gutters before so I found it quite fun. My son managed water control and we got all the gutters ready for the next big rain...probably in December. But we are ready!

My husband was laughing at my excitement of being on the roof digging dirt out of gutters. He noted that when the weekend comes the first thing I want to do is go outside and dig up something while he wants to catch up on e-mail and Facebook. My husband works hard all week in a swamp-cooled shop doing autobody work on cars, trucks, and motorcycles. I honestly don't know how he does it. People bring in these old chassis' on four tires and Todd sends them out looking fresh off the showroom. By Friday, he is done with the elements.

While I do work outside much of the year for my job, in the summer I am tethered to my laptop. I crave the outside. I pop open windows - when it isn't 108 degrees outside - and gaze out to where I want to be. When the weekend comes for me I want to run and play and grow something.

Todd grew up tending to his mom's farm so he has had a lifetime of yard work. And, while we just have two acres, they need a lot of work. It went like this...the house burned down and then the well went dry. Those two catastrophes pretty much did in our lawn. It is going to take a lot of work and funds to get everything looking spiffy and green again. Once the well is paid off we will work on the lawn but for now we manage weeds and trees. It can be daunting to look out and see dried up everything but when I look out I focus on our shrubs and plants that need watering and our vegetable garden that is thriving. I have learned to overlook the vast expanse of brown where our yard should be. 

My husband is a champ about indulging me in my little projects like cleaning out rain gutters. He knows there is a big project looming but also knows I feel better if I can at least keep up on the little things. People driving by our home probably wonder why I am wielding a chainsaw while Todd tinkers in the garage. Simply, it gives me joy. I love tending to what vegetation we have. I know we have a plan and when the time is right God will make it so. Someday I will walk barefoot on green grass in our lawn (actually I will probably flop around on it like a happy dog after a bath). I know without a doubt that even when I am able to flop around with joy I will still find happiness in clean rain gutters.