not the girl I thought I was...

• I used to think of myself as a hale and hearty kind of gal. You know, the kind who could work all day in the yard, or go for a run whenever I wanted and have no ill after-effects from either event.
• I used to think I had a pretty decent amount of stamina and strength.
• I used to be okay with mowing the lawn because it was time spent outside, I could get a lot of thinking done, it helped my husband, and as an added bonus it was a workout and a tanning session all rolled into one.

I used to think all of those things until about 4:08pm today...

This is a photo of our lawnmower. It's your basic mulching lawnmower with the added bonus of a power drive system that makes it easier to push. Another helpful add-on is the bag that catches all the grass clippings so the lawn is nice and neat after mowing (and our cream cairn terrier Dixie doesn't look like Elphaba every time the grass gets cut.)
See how it says right on the mower "EZ Mulch bag"?
And "PowerGearDrive"?

This is what the bag for the clippings looks like now. The right side blew out as I was mowing, spraying me with grass clippings. Not a big deal except that the left side is already being held closed with a safety pin. Again, not a big deal, except for the fact that 2 minutes after I started mowing, I heard a whining, squeaking noise, and now the power drive doesn't work anymore. Again not a big deal except for these facts:

• my heart is hammering in my chest from the effort of pushing this darn thing all over the yard,
• I am sweating profusely even though the temp is only about 60f and there is a pleasant cool breeze,
• I am stopping at the end of every row to catch my breath,
• I'll look like a complete wimp if I don't finish this before my husband gets home,
• and lastly, my mood has turned terribly dark and sour from frustration and the realization that I am not the girl that I thought I was.

Now that my little venting break is over, I've gotten this aggravation out of my system, and caught my breath, I'm headed back outside to finish this job that I started. Whew! Thanks for listening; I feel so much better now. It is what it is, and I'm still a pretty decent cookie, if I do say so myself. But I'm definitely having some wine with dinner tonight, oh yeah, that's for sure, and after all - "tomorrow is another day"!