|
Jerry
Ochs
A
Personal Journal Reflecting On Aging
June 14 | June 16
June
14: A Father's Day Gift
Had an interesting week. My sister, brother-in-law, and
son built an arbor for our dad as a Father's Day gift. We worked
on it all day Wednesday and took it to his home today, around
noon. We built it at my friend's home in his garage, as it was
raining all day, so we moved operations indoors. My sister and
husband live in Brainerd, Minnesota, and came to Aberdeen Tuesday
night and stayed at my friend's home Tuesday and Wednesday night,
as we wanted to surprise dad when the arbor was completed.
We loaded the arbor into a trailer, and delivered the thing
to dad's house around 11:15 Thursday morning. While my son,
brother-in-law, and I moved the arbor to a temporary location
in my dad's backyard, my sister went to the front door of
my dad's home. She was greeted casually by dad, who proceeded
to the back yard to see what was going on. His reaction was
less than enthusiastic (as I would have expected from my dad).
It is finally starting to sink in! My dad, age 88, from the
Depression era, expects that everything that is done for him,
out of love and respect from his siblings, is expected
of them. He takes everything done for him (painting his house,
yardcare, and a millennium of other favors), as due him. We
have never heard the words "thank you" being uttered
from his mouth!
This may seem like a very negative attitude on my part, but
believe me, I have witnesses to my allegations. I only hope
my situation is a unique one. Let me know.
June 16: Lawn Care
I remember as a kid how envious I was of my upper-middle class friends because they all had green, spacious lawns. They also belonged to the Country Club and were allowed to golf. I would tag along, to act as caddie. I remember the lush green fairways and especially the putting greens. I dreamed of having my own mini-putting green in my back yard when I grew up and had my own home.
This eventually became a reality, but remember the old saying, "Be careful of what you wish for." Building, maintaining, and upkeep of a "bent-grass" green is an astronomical undertaking. My advice: DON'T DO IT!
I bring this up at this time, because today was yard care day at my girlfriend's home. Before we met, her philosophy was simple: don't water the grass and by the end of July, you won't have to mow it again until next spring. Since I took over her yard, including reconnecting her well to a pump, and doing regular fertilizer and weedkiller applications, the lawn is now posh! That is why it took me over an hour to do the "weed-eater" thing. Also, the lot is bordered on two sides with a chain link fence over 600 feet long (both sides included). It is a lot of work, but when it's finished, I like to set on the patio and admire this accomplishment, trivial as it may seem. It takes me back to that golf course of my youth, perhaps?
The yard at my home during the 40s & 50s was nothing but weeds, which had to be cut with a push mower, the pre-motorized power mower era, which many journal readers probably remember. Many of these same readers recall that there was a time when there was NO TELEVISION!
My parents could not afford grass seed for the yard, let alone afford the water to put on it. Most of the yard was used for garden space, from which we obtained most of our winter food supply. Remember canning season?
I guess my point in all this is simply that the need for green grass may have been one of the motivational factors that made me pursue a college degree, BS + MS, and to be able to afford my own "putting green."
Journal
Home | Aging Gracefully
Home
|
© 2025 | Home : Terms of Use : Your Privacy Rights