You know.

You want to do something but you gotta do something else first to make it easier.

All I wanted to do was hang up the laundry for my wife. It was a sunny, breezy day; perfect for drying things outside. The clothesline is in the backyard. The backyard is where the dogs do their business. For some reason they particularly enjoy going under the clothesline.

My kids are supposed to be cleaning up the yard once a week but it’s a chore that seems to have fallen out of fashion and with so many other activities going on, it’s hard to enforce. I usually remember it needs to be done after I step in something. At that point, it’s no laughing matter.

I decided to do it myself and then show them the severity of the issue. The complicating factor of fallen leaves meant that if I only picked up what I saw, I would miss more than half the problem. I started by picking up everything I could see and then would blow the leaves out of the yard and pick up the rest.

With the first round complete, I got the leaf blower from the garage, and started making things happen. I topped the tank off with 2-cycle fuel prior to starting but a few minutes into the task the blower lost power and shut off. I had been using a variety of partial fuel cans (pre-mixed cans from the store that are sold with stabilizer and no ethanol) given to me by a friend, I guess some of it wasn’t good anymore. I put the machine back in the garage and obtained a rake.

A task that would’ve taken 30 minutes had now been extended to an hour or more. I’d already stepped in a few piles which put my mood in a downward trajectory, so when the blower failed I was angry. I channeled my anger into raking harder and faster but there was quite a lot to move.

I usually don’t bother raking until later because the oak takes so long to shed its last and it seems pointless to rake repeatedly. With the raking done, it was time to do another round of pick-up.
Then I had to change shoes, wash up, and hours later, finally hang the laundry.

A simple task, for sure. Often we don’t take into account everything that leads up to our goal. Just a few minutes of planning can help see if a task is something we want to take on right now or save for a more prepared time.

Making the small efforts now will help streamline the big tasks later.

-Drew Out.

Drew founded Mental Grenade Jan 2020. He is a follower of Jesus Christ, a medically retired Marine, EOD Tech, writer, mountain biker, photographer, facilitator, and fly-fisherman. He seeks to bridge the civilian – military divide and bring hope through honest communication about difficult issues.

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