Remember the other night when I posted about Band-Aids and how I never think about them until I need them? So here's another thing I don't think about until I need them ... lawnmower wheels. Actually, I'm pretty sure I've never thought about lawnmower wheels in my entire life, except for that one day when I took my ex-husband's pistol and shot my old mower after I had tried for over an hour to get it to start. The only reason I thought about lawnmower wheels that day was because I tried really hard to shoot them ... I aimed at those stupid wheels three times, pulled the trigger and missed every time. But I digress ... back to my never giving any thought to lawnmower wheels (except for that one day).
I never considered that it might possibly be a good idea to have an extra lawnmower wheel tucked away in my garage in case one suddenly broke and fell off while I was in mid-mow. Nope, I sure didn't ... at least not until a couple of weeks ago when that's exactly what happened. I was trying desperately to finish mowing before it started raining and I realized my old Toro mower was suddenly very hard to push. Since I'm not the most mechanically minded gal in the neighborhood, I didn't even notice that the back left wheel was almost horizontal with the ground rather than vertical. I just kept right on trying my best to push the obviously demon-possessed mower through the grass while I grumbled loudly about how much I dislike lawnmowers in general and while I stated even more loudly that I fully intended to have a chat with God someday about the design of grass. The fact that I didn't once think about shooting the mower during my tirade probably speaks highly as to the progress I've made emotionally since that one day. But again, I digress ... it wasn't until the horizontal rather than vertical wheel completely fell off of the mower that I finally stopped trying to push the obviously injured mower through the grass.
Believe me when I say that I was not a happy camper as I picked up the broken wheel and saw that it was probably broken beyond repair. Always the optimist, however (that's a joke, by the way), I went to my neighbor's house, broken lawnmower wheel in hand, and asked if he thought there might be a way to fix it. I'm pretty sure he was trying not to laugh as he shook his head, told me I'd have to buy a new wheel and asked if I'd like to borrow his mower so that I could finish my yard. Thanks to my neighbor's generosity in allowing me to use his mower, I was able to complete my mowing adventure just before the rain began to fall. You can bet your butt it wasn't beating the rain that was on my mind as I took full advantage of the self-propelled feature on my neighbor's mower ... heck, no ... the only thing I was thinking about was wheels ... the only thing I thought about for the rest of the day was broken lawnmower wheels. It was the following weekend before I went to Home Depot and bought a new wheel, and I'm pretty proud that I managed to put the new wheel on all by myself ... I may have to stop and tighten it each time after I mow the front yard, but I still put it on all by myself.
I've learned about lawnmowers and their wheels over the last couple of weeks, you know. I've learned that in order for a lawnmower to effectively do what it's meant to do ... mow grass ... it needs all four of its wheels. I suppose there might be some freakishly strong person somewhere on the planet who could mow a yard with a three-wheeled mower, but I'd have to see it to believe it. A lawnmower needs all four wheels to stay balanced ... it needs all four wheels to move forward ... it needs all four wheels to accomplish the task of cutting the grass. Most of you know me well enough by now to know that I learned a much deeper lesson than the difficulty of maneuvering a three-wheeled mower or the need to have a spare lawnmower wheel on hand ... of course I did. It takes all of us working together, friends ... it takes all of us pulling together, covering each other's backs, balancing each other, being there for each other ... it takes all of us doing our part to get the job done.
It takes all four wheels, friends ... it takes all four wheels, indeed.
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