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The Old Push Mower
by Cindy Odom As I look at the old push mower sitting by my porch, I see it has become a dwelling for the morning glories. As they twine around it, I am taken back to fond memories of a simple time. I always enjoyed spending time outside helping dad in the yard. When he would let me mow the grass, I never had to wait for him to put gas in the mower, or adjust the seat; this mower was powered by a little girl's means of determination and encouragement. He would stand behind and watch, from time to time telling me to remember to keep in a straight line. I would giggle and go around in a circle, hearing dad scold me and I would look up to see the grin on his face. When I had finished, he would always revisit the yard to snip the spots I had missed. Then we would take the mower down by the alley and he would clean the grass off the blades. Then up to the garage we would go. I would sit and watch as he again would wipe off the blades, then take a long object and wipe it across the blades. When I would ask what he was doing, he would tell me that we must always keep the blades sharp to be sure we could give the grass a good cutting. He would then hand me a round can with a long swan like neck and show me where to position it then tell me to push the handle. Again I would ask what this is for, and he would tell me it is oil that is needed to keep the blades and wheels moving when I mow the grass. Now, there are many days when I sit upon our riding mower and think of the times when as a little girl I would walk behind the old push mower and laugh as I turned in a circle just to see the grin on dad's face. Sometimes I feel his presence with me as I mow and I can't resist going in a circle. Before he passed away, he came to visit. He sat on the porch and watched me as I sat on the riding mower and mowed the grass. When I came up to the porch, he asked me how I learned to to do such a fine job. I smiled as I told him I had the best instructor a little girl could ever have. I have been married to my high school sweet heart for 40 years. We have three children and three grandchildren. We have lived south of Indianapolis,IN. since 1982. Prior to here, we lived in different areas, moving quite a bit due to my husband career in retail. Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |