On My Own – 22/6/11

Never let the hand you hold, hold you down.  ~Author Unknown

There are things that need to be done when you own a house and I am learning that I do not like those customary "man" jobs. I have to fend for myself and although I will take the help if it is offered, I will not ask for it. It would be easier to hire someone to come do the "handyman" jobs but since I am a little pig headed and always ready to prove a point, I will do it myself.

All of my grumbling at "man" jobs started when every light in this entire house decided to go out at once. I am short and do not want to haul the step stool out so I perched on my tip toes on the edge of various pieces of furniture while  changing the bulbs. This is not a difficult task but I did not enjoy it and cannot say it is liberating either since it is so easy to do... A monkey... or a man could do it!

Tonight I mowed my front and back lawns. For a girl who worked for the local parks department for a couple of summers, this is not a completely foreign task but I have not done it in years. I have never mowed my own lawn, even as a kid growing up. That was a "man" job!!! Today, after my ex made a comment about the grass needing to be mowed, I sucked it up and decided to remove the small forest in my backyard. With all the rain we have had, the grass was pretty long! I was not sure if I would even know how to start the lawn mower but again, I realized it is not rocket science and I booted it up on the first try! I must say I did a great job despite the mower cutting out a trillion times because the grass was so long!! This task was a little more liberating than changing a light bulb!

I think the most liberating moment for me was just after my ex left and I decided I wanted my heavy bag and stand (for boxing) upstairs. I hauled the 75 pound bag off the stand and up the stairs on my own! I tried to drag the stand and realized very quickly that it was way to big to fit down the hallway and up the stairs so I took it apart, hauled each piece up and reassembled it! I hoisted the heavy bag and hooked it up. Then I beat the hell out of it. Not many women have a heavy bag in their living room but then again, I am not every woman! This task was small but happened so close to when I kicked out my ex that  it made me feel like I could do anything, so it really was big in a sense!

Not that I ever doubted it but yes, I can do "man" jobs without great difficulty. However, I would prefer not to do those jobs as I do not like them and besides, I have all the "woman" jobs to do as well! It is funny how the smallest things can make you realize how okay you are really going to be. I have handled much bigger stuff than mowing the lawn. However, I can say that I will be very happy to hand these tasks over when I finally meet my Prince Charming!