Rider on the Storm

I just got in from mowing about 30 minutes ago. It was pretty much 10 minutes past sundown. I could barely see, but I got it done. It started yesterday, when I started mowing in the early afternoon and finished everything around the house in about 90 minutes, leaving myself with just 70 more minutes of mowing in the field to the south of my house.

I didn't have time, however, because my father had just called me before I went out to mow asking if I'd like to meet him since he'd be in Kansas City in a couple of hours to do some shopping. So, I grabbed a shower and rushed off to meet him. I love spending time with my pop. We had a somewhat distant relationship when I was growing up. Not bad, just not as close as my mother and I were, but when she passed away, he made a real effort to be there for me in her absence.

Anyhow, I spent a few hours with my father, then came home and prepared dinner: chicken and turkey sausage jambalaya (from scratch! I didn't even use Zatarain's) with roasted zucchini, snap beans and asparagus. It was very tasty, but it took a lot longer to prep than I thought. By the time I got done, I only had about 30 minutes before the finale of LOST was going to start, so I had no time to finish the lawn. I was disappointed because I knew I only had until Tuesday before a 3 day thunderstorm would start, and mowing would discourage me from working out tonight.

Add to that the fact that it was ridiculously hot today (I know, in a couple months, I'll think low 90s is pretty mild), and I just did not want to do it. I was hoping to borrow my neighbor's riding mower, but he wasn't home! I cursed my unfortunate set of circumstances and debated letting the field go until after the storms, which would almost guarantee a very rough mow. I decided I'd wait for my neighbor to come back, so I heated up some leftovers (just as delicious on day two!) and turned on the A/C (I wanted to last till later in June, but it was 97° in here).

Finished dinner, washed the dishes and neighbor still wasn't home. By then, it was 7.15 and I just barely had enough time to finish with my push mower before sunset. Yeah, I know, I spoiled the surprise, but here's where this story fits in a weight loss blog. Granted, it was lazy of me to wait that long for the possibility of using a rider to finish the job in 20 minutes, but fat me wouldn't have thought twice about just saying "fuck it" and skipped out on the lawn mowing duty. The fact that I did it tonight gives me a real sense of accomplishment. I'm really enjoying the person I'm becoming.

Oh, and also, I got an offer at my job for my permanent position since my temp appointment ends this week. It was a good day. Now, to enjoy the slight cool-off and thunderstorms on the horizon for the next few days, back to the gym tomorrow, WI on Thursday is looking pretty good. Lates!