As often happens with the change of seasons and the fluctuating temperatures, I got careless and came down with a head cold. As we all know, that is no reason to skip work, so armed with my various weapons of viral defense, I faced the dragon of corporate America and made it through the week unscathed and also, uncured.
On one day, upon coming home, I noticed that the grass was getting a little long and ragged looking. It was a cool afternoon with temperatures in the 40’s and the forecast for the next few days did not look good, with rain being the predominant word bandied about by the forecasters. So, head cold not withstanding, I decided to cap the day by cutting the lawn. It takes about an hour and a half to cut the single acre of Mahlerdom that is my suburban domain. Of course, that is when I am not using the lawnmower as a cardio workout device.
I use a human propelled power mower, but am still amazed at the many neighbors in my development with much smaller lots who find it necessary to park their carcasses on a lawn tractor. There is no John Deer in our home unless it’s my wife calling me on a good day.
Well, speaking of my wife, she came home from work and pulled in the driveway as I was mowing and was surprised to see me working in the yard. While it was quite cool, I was drenched in sweat as could be seen from the front of my shirt. We both knew that I should not be out there and she wasted no time in telling me so. When she had finished scolding her miscreant husband, I looked at her and said, matter of factly, “the grass doesn’t wait.”
With that perfect blend of frustration and confusion that wives can muster at a moment’s notice, she shrugged, went into the house and closed the garage door.
I continued with my work, all the while thinking about what I had just said. Not only will the grass not wait, but if I put off mowing it, when I finally get around to it, it will be thicker and really tough to cut. There are so many things in life that are just like growing grass and they should not be kept waiting. Whether we are prepared or not, there are forces to be dealt with that will not wait for us to get around to them. And, like growing grass, if we do put them off, it will only make tackling them more difficult.
Now, I could go on and make a list of a hundred such things, but somehow have the feeling that, as you read this, you are already thinking of a few and making a mental list of your own. What are some of those things that you could or should do that won’t wait? Or, what about the things that you could or should have done sooner that would have made your life better or easier, and when you finally got around to them, they were made more difficult by your having put them off?
Take stock of what life sends your way and prepare to act on those things that need your immediate attention, because without your effort, things will only become more difficult the longer you delay. Why? Because the grass doesn’t wait.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Have a Great Week!
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__________________ In Fitness & Friendship, MAHLER
______________________________ __________________________ There is no light at the end of the tunnel. You carry the light with you.
Wow. I've been gone for quite some time. I come back and this really hits home. I have fallen into quite the slump in the past several months and am trying to drag myself out. Got to get out and attack my "grass"(physical, mental & spiritual condition) now. I've got a baby coming soon and this is no time to be sitting on my ass watching the grass (and my ass) grow.
__________________
"Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you are right." - Henry Ford
"UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." - Dr. Seuss
"Life is no brief candle to me. It is sort of a splendid torch which I have got hold of for a moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations." - George Bernard Shaw
__________________
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Walk on
With hope in your heart
And You'll Never Walk Alone
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There's no free lunch, especially when it's served with special sauce (lostdog)
***************************** My Log - PC Plod
Two Bears Dadda? Two Bears Benno, just two. ______________________________ ___________
There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit. ~Al Gallagher, 1971
__________________ “I have always done my duty. I am ready to die. My only regret is for the friends I leave behind me.”
-- Zachary Taylor, 12th U.S. President, 1849-1850
As always you are right on even with the making mental lists. As soon as I read that line I had a dozen things running through my pea brain that I need to start working on.
Thanks John
__________________ -50# by 4/1/10 2 down 48 to go.
I am notourious for leaving things that require my attention as long as possible, good reminder Mahler,
now i have to go do some things ive been avoiding..
Nice to know someone else also uses mowing as a workout. Everyone in my neighborhood except me has the self-propelled kind. I have a rechargeable electric that takes a lot of effort to push.
Now my soapbox rant: did you know that mowing the lawn with a gas mower for one hour releases the same amount of emissions as driving 500 miles in your car? Yep, 500 miles. Which is why I got my shitty little rechargeable. It's quiet as hell and no emissions. End of rant.
Now my soapbox rant: did you know that mowing the lawn with a gas mower for one hour releases the same amount of emissions as driving 500 miles in your car? Yep, 500 miles. Which is why I got my shitty little rechargeable. It's quiet as hell and no emissions. End of rant.
Did you know that I don't care? I mow the lawn once a week. When someone is able to put the brakes on these big honking ass vehicles that I see all around me, I will downsize my lawnmower. To me, its just another smoke screen (pardon the pun) to mask the real problems.
Did you also know that a company whose pollution levels fall below government standards, has the ability to sell their pollution rights to another company who is exceeding pollution standards. Yeah, I'll put a catalytic converter on my mower. Sure.
Did you also know that, even though bus service is provided, the average high school student drives to school. You can fit 60 kids on a bus, but nobody has the balls to say they have to use them, so our overindulged kiddies drive their spanking new gas guzzlers to school every day. So, to help them out, I will get rid of my lawnmower and go electric. Sure, I will.
Did you know that there actually used to be stores and businesses in every town in America that were, for the most part, a short walk from our homes? Oh, sorry. They all closed because someone thought it would be better to build a mall and have all the shiny new things in one place. Now we have to hop in our cars, drive 20 miles, sit in traffic, and burn more gasoline to get what used to be at the corner store. Maybe I should get one of those old fashioned push mowers. I really should, so that we can save that gallon of gas I use once a week and cut that pollution that I am creating that is going to damage the ozone layer. Yeah, sure I will. Damn, good idea.
And, did you know that by maintaining my one acre lawn and not paving it over for a parking lot, that I am actually helping to add clean oxygen to the atmosphere? Maybe I am not such an environmentally unfriendly guy after all.
Love ya, Kaiser. Just had to pull out my soapbox too. End of rant.
__________________ In Fitness & Friendship, MAHLER
______________________________ __________________________ There is no light at the end of the tunnel. You carry the light with you.
Mahler’s Monday Morning Motivator # 138 – The Grass Doesn’t Wait
I mow the lawn once a week. When someone is able to put the brakes on these big honking ass vehicles that I see all around me, I will downsize my lawnmower. To me, its just another smoke screen (pardon the pun) to mask the real problems. 
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