The Unbearable Fatness of Being

A new day, a new list:

Bacon, egg & cheese biscuit, hash browns, lg. Diet Coke, 1 slice chocolate cake, 5oz. Fritos Honey Barbeque Twists, chicken bake, single cheeseburger, lg. fries and lg. Dr. Pepper

Yesterday was a bad day for the most part.  We had trouble getting kids off to school, us off to work, etc.  Just a bad day.  And part of what made it worse was the fact that I had no chocolate.  Actually, I take that back.  I now realize that I had a candy bar in my desk and somewhere in the office there are still Hershey’s kisses floating around.  I forgot about this yesterday, and so did not have that to fall back on.

The weather is turning nicer by the day, and I am feeling the need to get out and do something.  Our roses are starting to sprout.  The lilacs are coming in in force this year after last year’s dismal performance.  I have yet to mow the lawn for the first time, and the leaves are still piled from last year.  We had a tremendous amount that hung onto the trees until the snow started to knock them down.  The point being that I have lots of yard work to do.

Now I don’t know how many of you like to do yard work.  When I was little we didn’t have yard work to do.  We lived in an apartment and it was done for us.  I have never been a good practitioner of lawn care.  I cut the lawn when I know the mower won’t be able to handle it if it gets any longer.  And now I have kids who can do it for me.

I decided last year, though, that we would get a push or reel mower this year.  I can remember these from my childhood.  In the intervening years we have had one off and on (mostly off) that never quite worked right.  We now have a yard that is a nice size but not large by any definition.  One that is perfect for a reel mower.  It earth-conscious (though I am not, usually), and it will save on maintenance costs, gas, oil, etc., and has the added benefit of being a lot more exercise than standing behind a belt driven mower.  My kids do not think this is a good idea. I should say, my 16 year-old son does not think this is a good idea.  The 11 and 8 year-old think it’s way cool!  My son suffers from a condition which I call (as of this moment) Why-can’t-my-dad-get-off-his-fat-butt-itis.  This condition usually involves doing unwanted tasks, at the most inconvenient time and for the stupidest reasons. For example, mowing the lawn on a Saturday morning when the game system is all prepped for a session of gaming because my dad doesn’t want to do it.  He is less than enthusiastic about the whole thing.

Today’s quote:

“I've been on a constant diet for the last two decades.  I've lost a total of 789 pounds.  By all accounts, I should be hanging from a charm bracelet.  ~Erma Bombeck”