Saturday, May 26, 2012

Sweat and Perseverance

The hardest lawn I ever had to mow was Mrs. Tierney's yard on Pine Lane in the Briarwood neighborhood.  I remember it felt like acres and acres of thick green grass (but it was probably less than an acre in reality). I especially recall one hot, humid day in the middle of summer, when I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to finish mowing the yard.  You see, this huge yard had no trees in the front of the house, which meant no shade, no landscaping curves, and nothing to break the long rows of pushing the lawn mower.  There was just the one long sidewalk down the middle of the yard, all the way to the street.  And lots of neverending grass that was very thick, very tall, and it made the lawn mower cut out too many times on that hot, humid day!  I was sweating to death, but I knew that if I quit, I'd still have to come back and finish another day, which meant I wouldn't get paid immediately. There was something about getting paid right after you ended the job that made you persevere and persist to the end.  Getting paid for when the job's complete sure develops self-motivation and self-initiative in a little kid, unlike other types of job. And that work ethic instilled into me that day pushed me to finish the lawn, get paid, push the lawn mower home, and go get a shower... at least I think I took a shower!!

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