she nails it when talking about doing yard chores growing up.
http://www.myeverydayadventures.com/2009/09/09/childhood-chores/
I, too, grew up on a nice sized piece of land, but in a suburb of st. louis. In a relatively well-to-do neighborhood, there i was, at 7 years old, already driving the tractor around. That was my favorite. Getting to drive the tractor. Picking up sticks, i hated, just like her. But at least the yard felt cleaner after doing it. And i suppose leaf raking was relatively satisfying. but painful.
And leaves are a lot heavier than sticks. So when those big, blue tarps got full of sticks, no problem. But leaves? Sweat & tears while my weak little arms tried pulling those things up to the street or back to the creek. And then trying to manage the big piles, consolidating the smaller piles into bigger ones.. (god.)
Mowing the lawn was awesome. And bringing my walkman out there was always a thrill, until it would get taken away because i couldn't hear anyone yelling at me or hear any of the sticks getting eaten by the blades. I broke the mower a few times. Just about every time, actually.
The day wouldn't be complete without my dad being on the ground with tools, sweat pouring off his forehead as he tried to pull whatever obstruction from the blades i managed to suck up in there. Tarp lanyards, dog bones, but mostly logs and sticks. And i'd always be standing there, just waiting to get back on the tractor. With my walkman, of course, wondering what was taking so long.
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