Jul 7, 2020 3 min read

I spent the weekend playing catch-up around the house and farm. On Saturday, I did all of the laundry, most of the house cleaning, stripped the sheets off the bed, caught up our receipt book, and balanced the checkbooks. I was kicking butt and taking names. I was moving and grooving. I was rocking and rolling. And I did it all with no coffee.

Sunday morning dawned bright and early, and we were outside to see it. Before 6 we were at the chicken coop, gathering up the birds we raised for meat and crating them to take for processing. We were on the road by 7 and, after a quick breakfast in town, were back home by 9:30.

Shortly after that, I climbed into the seat of the tractor and went up into the field behind our house to mow. My husband had already gone around the fence lines a few weeks ago, so I was able to start making passes back and forth without worrying too much about hitting any wires.

On one end of the field is a small knoll that I usually avoid because it seems to me to be incredibly steep. On the top of said knoll is a rosebush that grows larger every year because of my refusal to mow it.

But not this year. Nope. This year, I intended to get over the literal hump and mow that rosebush down.

I worked my way over to that part of the field slowly. First, I mowed around our water trough and the telephone pole in the field. Then, I made a few passes beside the knoll and worked up my courage. Finally, I had no choice but to do it or say I couldn’t. So, I tightened my seat belt and then headed toward it.

I was headed uphill and when I got to the knoll, I held my breath. I began to climb it, and the rosebush bogged down the brush mower a bit. Knowing I couldn’t quit in the middle, I throttled up and bit my lip. Before I knew it, pass one was complete.

I turned around and headed back toward the rosebush. Pass two required me to drive downhill, so I throttled down a little. Somewhat surprised that I survived thus far, I finished mowing that swath before turning at the bottom and heading back up.

The third and final pass found me squealing a little in discomfort as I made my way up and over again. I was so proud of myself for actually cutting down that big ol’ rosebush! I nearly went to get my husband to make him come look right then and there. Instead, I finished mowing that field and then went and did a bit more in another. When I was all done – and my heart had finished pounding out of my chest – I did have the opportunity to show him. (He was sufficiently proud of me to offset how much he laughed over my assessment of the knoll as scary.)

A few more chores and we finally called it a day. I’m sure whatever gets thrown at me this week at work will still feel like a holiday compared to the whirlwind weekend I had just finished with. I hope your holiday was a good- and more restful – one!