A. went out and fired up the lawn tractor. I went out with Cubby to hang his laundry.
But then we discovered the tractor's middle blade wasn't cutting. And it looked like rain.
New plan: The MiL took Cubby so A. and I could jack up the tractor. He thought maybe the blade bent when he was mowing a particularly rocky and hilly area up back last time, so he could possibly just hammer it back into shape. He lifted the tractor, I inserted the jack stands, and he went under the tractor to see if the blade could be fixed.
But then he discovered the blade was actually missing.
New plan: A. and I will search for the missing blade while the MiL continues to entertain Cubby. We found the blade. The threads that screwed onto the mower deck had stripped. A. thought maybe he could use some J-B Weld to put it back together. He went to the hardware store; I took Cubby back and prepared to hang his laundry up.
But then it rained.
New plan: Laundry in the dryer, no working in the garden or gathering mulberries for juice. Instead I will make yogurt and A. will try to fix the tractor with the J-B Weld.
But then, in the middle of my yogurt-making, I hear shouting from outside. So I turned off the burners and ran out to find A. holding the J-B Weld-ed blade onto the bottom of the tractor with his hand and shouting to get someone to find some bricks to prop up the blade so he could remove his hand.
New plan: A. holds the blade and the MiL and I gather bricks and various bits of wood, which I then wedge under the blade in a series of combinations until I get one that's just the right height to hold the blade. Then back to my yogurt. Since he can't mow until the adhesive sets, A. decides he should re-build the foundation for the now-straightened shed. He starts digging; I finish my yogurt.
But then I remembered we really have to go to the dump this week.
New plan: I gather all the stuff for the dump; A. leaves his digging and loads the truck. He goes to the dump. I start writing my post.
But then Cubby just woke up.
Forget the plans. They never work at Blackrock. Especially on Saturdays.
It takes a village to raise a child.
ReplyDeleteIt takes another village to run a farm.
I don't know what you are supposed to do about the weather.
Plans were made to be changed.
ReplyDeleteWow, if the J-B Weld works for the stripped threads on a mower blade, it may work for anything. The repair might be kind of permanent, however. A report on the performance of the completed repair would be interesting.
ReplyDeleteSo many plans, so little success. Days like that call for a bottle of something stronger than juice.
ReplyDeleteSo funny.
ReplyDeleteSo accurate.
Sometimes there are these days that just don't want us to be in control.
Resiliency. A killer skill to teach kids. (and Cubby's got it in spades).
The good news is, there's always something to do. That's the bad news, too.
ReplyDeleteI can't tell whether you were extremely productive or just extremely exhausted at the end of the day, but good on ya for being so friggen flexible.
ReplyDeleteI probably would have freaked out after my carefully organized day of productivity got derailed the second time.
Or when I realized we needed to go to the dump. I HATE THE DUMP.