In my view, one of the biggest down sides to owning a house is having a yard. I like the idea in principle, of course, since it keeps me from having to share walls with my neighbors and allows for shade trees which block out as much sunlight as possible. I even like the idea of having an attractive yard. Left to my own devices, though, I might end up just paving over the whole thing and calling it a day. If I had the money, I might instead consider paying someone else to take care of it for me.
But as for me, I hate doing yardwork. Absolutely despise it. In fact, there are few things in life I hate more than doing yardwork and being “in the great outdoors”. I’d rather clean toilets, or do laundry, or give blood, or even sit through a “Friends” marathon than do yardwork — or anything else that involves being outside in the sunshine, for that matter. Working in the yard neither relaxes me nor gives me a sense of accomplishment or satisfaction. It just makes me sweaty and itchy and cranky.
I didn’t like playing outside in the sun and “fresh air” as a child, and I whined every time the suggestion was made that I should do so. I react pretty much the same way as an adult. It’s no wonder I hate street fairs, as they combine two of the most distasteful things in the world: sunshine and large crowds. I make an excpetion for the State Fair, but I generally don’t even show up there until dusk. Hanging out by a pool or on a sunny beach is like torture to me. Heck, I don’t even like being in cars with sunroofs.
Though no fan of sunshine himself, Mark likes our yard. He’s willing to work out in the sunshine to give us nice flowerbeds and shrubs and trees. He finds it worth the payoff, which is great. As my part of the bargain, I’ve agreed to mow the lawn as needed, since he really hates doing that. I also water his shrubs and flowers every day when he’s gone, which is no problem since it’s better to do that after sunset anyway.
I very often feel guilty leaving him out there working in the yard while I go inside to do something (anything) else. I’m learning to get over my guilt, though. I’m glad there are people who enjoy making yards look nice. I’m just not one of them, alas, and I probably never will be.