Heh. It's quite a useful exclamation when you get really, really frustrated. Try it sometime; you'll see.
There are days when I SERIOUSLY miss Kurt. I mean, seriously. I miss him as a dull ache most days, but there are times when I get smacked in the face with a steel hammer that he's really gone, and let me tell you, that hurts. Big time.
Like this afternoon. Kurt mowed the lawn about a week before he left. He didn't do it right before he left because it was raining. Surprise surprise; it rains in Seattle! It has been two weeks today since he left, officially. Guess what hasn't been done in that time?!
If there is one chore in the world I absolutely loathe and despise, it would be mowing the lawn. I was still in elementary school when I began mowing the lawn. We lived in Illinois, and as lawns go, it was an easy one to mow. A front yard with a small slope, a backyard, and two side yards. Easy as pie. My sister would con me into doing it, promising me I don't know what now. I don't remember if I ever did get anything in return for doing it. But I loved my sister, so I mowed the lawn. I bet she doesn't remember this... :o)
Then my sister moved to my mother's house for her senior year. And as the only child in her teens in the household, guess who mowed the lawn?? Yours truly. The lawn in Nebraska was no big deal, just a slope from the side yard to the backyard which was kind of a pain, but most of it was level. Back in Virginia the lawn was much smaller since we only had one sideyard and no backyard to speak of. I could mow it in thirty minutes or less.
Our first home together as a married couple was in an apartment. No yard maintenance. Which brings us to this house, which we bought in March 2003. Kurt left two weeks after we moved in and was gone on deployment seven months. That included the whole damn summer. I mowed the lawn.
Last year Kurt left on Memorial Day and was gone until mid-August. Plus I was pregnant all last summer, due in late September.
Do we see a theme yet?!
Because guess who's going to be gone all damn summer?!
Harumph.
So I get to mow the lawn while I take care of Grace too. At least that's the easy part. As I mowed the front lawn this morning, I had her in her exersaucer on the front porch, slathered in plenty of sunscreen even though it was overcast today. By the time I finished the front yard, it was naptime, so I didn't have to worry about her while I did the rest of the yard.
Did I mention we have the world's largest lawn here?! It's almost a lot and a half, which would be nice if I could get up the gumption to put in a garden or we'd be here long enough for Grace to appreciate a swingset. It takes me an hour and a half to two hours to mow the lawn.
After I finished mowing the front yard, I noticed that our mulching mower was leaving huge clumps of grass with each pass. We've also been having a problem with the part that holds the blade on; it's called the blade bell support. Last summer I kept breaking off the bolt that holds on the blade because the support was wearing down and the balance of the blade was off. Finally I had to take it to our friendly local hardware store to have a guy fix it for me. I was eight months pregnant; my belly kept getting in the way!
So I turned over the mower, and lo and behold, the blade bell support was out of whack. Fortunately last summer I ordered two new parts from Sears, and Kurt was supposed to install it before he left. Did he?! Nope.
I could not get the bolt off in order to replace the blade bell support, no matter how hard I tried. Finally I went over to my neighbor's house and begged for his help. He came over and did the repair for me, which I didn't expect him to do, but it was all of five minutes' worth. Then it was back to mowing the lawn.
At least now it's done. Most of it anyhow. I still have to weedwhack the hill. Ah well... Yard work is good for you, right?? I told J when she got home from the gym, "What do I need a gym membership for?? I've got this damn lawn to mow!!" Let me tell you; it was quite a workout.
Tonight I noticed that the safety latches that Kurt had installed on the drawers weren't working too well. We bought the fold-down ones because we didn't need them yet when Kurt left.
Did I mention that Grace is full-fledged crawling now?? Yeah, it's pretty scary. Now I have to watch her ALL THE TIME. :o)
The fold-down safety latches worked fine if you didn't tug on the drawer too hard. But have you noticed recently how strong a baby is?! Yeah, they weren't going to cut it. I re-positioned one latch three times before I realized that I was just going to have to use the regular old-fashioned latches to keep Grace out of the knives. Once I finished the silverware drawer, it was on to the utensil drawer. What should have been a ten-minute repair went on for 45 minutes.
And I have no idea where my power screwdriver is, so I had to use Kurt's drill, which is too heavy for me and my carpal tunnel has been acting up lately (too much time on the computer -- har har). I think Kurt hid my screwdriver. And it's not like I can call him up and say, "Hey, where's my screwdriver??" If I send him an email, I can expect to wait anywhere from an hour to several days to get a response. Not only is he now 19 hours ahead of me, but he doesn't always remember to answer a question I've asked him. :o)
So right about now I could use a man around the house. Seriously. I just asked my friend if he'd come live with me for the next six months, but alas, a job hunt is more important. Not even my brother wants to come live with me. Garrrr.
But seriously, folks, do you know a military spouse in your area?? Is her husband out to sea or deployed to Iraq? If so, please do whatever is in your power to help her out. Mow her lawn for her. Offer to help with simple fixes around the house. If she has kids, have them play with your kids at least once so she gets some alone time. Bring her cookies or brownies. We are one of two military families in this neighborhood, and I guess it doesn't occur to anyone to offer help because they are uninformed. But as strong as I am, tonight I would really have liked help with the safety latches, and I live in fear that the water heater will break while Kurt is gone. For who will take care of it, but me?
Halloween really can't come soon enough for me. :o)