Infinite Sadness
Ages ago, in 2002, Eric and Krystal moved into our lovely Sparrowwood Drive abode and marveled at our luck AND at our professionally landscaped lawn. (The previous owners had done a lot of work!) We moved in during late March and didn't yet have a lawn-mower, so the grass got quite tall very quickly. The Kearneys visited us that Easter and surprised us with a lawn mower. It was a fantastic gift, but it never got used that summer. You see, each time the grass got tall enough to mow, we'd come home from work and discover that someone had mown it for us. We thought maybe it was the neighbor, but, then again, who just randomly mows someone else's yard? But the process continued, and we never mowed the lawn nor figured out who was responsible, until we discovered the lawn service. Apparently a mowing service was just mowing our yard when it came to take care of two neighbors' lawns. Clearly the previous owners had used the lawn service, and the service just continued mowing ... even though we had never paid them and they had no idea who we were. We finally caught them in the act, told them to stop mowing the lawn, and then we started using our own Kearney mower. That was 2002.
Well, I'll be frank, mowing lawns is not much fun. We mowed the rest of the 2002 season, and continued through 2004. Then came 2005, the spring when Krystal was pregnant with Raina, and Krystal had NO desire to mow the lawn. Low and behold, the lawn service just randomly started mowing the lawn again. We should have been honest and told them to stop, but we chose the path of evil and did not. Instead, we celebrated our ill-gotten gains and we retreated to the basement each time the mowers came, lest we were caught. Each spring, Krystal and Eric crossed their fingers, hoping that the free service would return, and then they chuckled mightily when the sound of mowers descended upon our yard.
Then came 2009, the year that Krystal and Eric received a new neighbor and the lawn service actually checked its contract listings. Our house was not on the list, and so did not get mown. Alas, our free lawn service is officially at an end. They did give us a flyer, though, and encouraged us to join up with "Roger's Lawn Care." I feel somewhat guilty that we were cheating what was, clearly, a mom and pop operation, but maybe it will pay off for them. We are never pulling out our lawn mower again, and we plan on using Roger's Lawn Care indefinitely. I called today to set it up, but I'm sad that our free service is over. It always made for an excellent story.
Well, I'll be frank, mowing lawns is not much fun. We mowed the rest of the 2002 season, and continued through 2004. Then came 2005, the spring when Krystal was pregnant with Raina, and Krystal had NO desire to mow the lawn. Low and behold, the lawn service just randomly started mowing the lawn again. We should have been honest and told them to stop, but we chose the path of evil and did not. Instead, we celebrated our ill-gotten gains and we retreated to the basement each time the mowers came, lest we were caught. Each spring, Krystal and Eric crossed their fingers, hoping that the free service would return, and then they chuckled mightily when the sound of mowers descended upon our yard.
Then came 2009, the year that Krystal and Eric received a new neighbor and the lawn service actually checked its contract listings. Our house was not on the list, and so did not get mown. Alas, our free lawn service is officially at an end. They did give us a flyer, though, and encouraged us to join up with "Roger's Lawn Care." I feel somewhat guilty that we were cheating what was, clearly, a mom and pop operation, but maybe it will pay off for them. We are never pulling out our lawn mower again, and we plan on using Roger's Lawn Care indefinitely. I called today to set it up, but I'm sad that our free service is over. It always made for an excellent story.
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