The Last Time
I mowed my yard for the last time today. We are moving from Lee's Summit, MO to Bloomington/Normal, IL in ten days, and unless there is burst of radiation from space that causes my grass to grow at science fiction like levels, today will have been the last time I mow my yard in Lee's Summit. It will be the last time I pace the full breadth and width of the place that has been my home for the last four years, my feet falling into the familiar paths that I have paced behind my mower numerous times each summer. It will be the last time I look with pride on my yard after spending a few hours tending it, caring for it.
How strange that something so innocuous, something I have previously considered a chore, can carry so much emotion with it. As I walked I kept thinking, "This will be the last time I mow this yard." Over and over. And I wonder now about other things. Will this be the last time I close my gate? Will this be the last time my kids go down the playground slide? Will this be the last time I hear my neighbors across the way playing in their pool? Will this be the last time it rains while we live here?
Even as I ruminate on all this I realize that we can never know when our last times will be. Will this be the last time I kiss my children before they go to school? Will this be the last time I pray with a friend at church? Will this be the last time I rest my head on my pillow and drift to sleep? Thinking about these questions can't help but raise one more: Knowing every moment may be the last moment, am I satisfied with the moments I am living right now? Have I wrung all the joy and life and love out of every moment I find myself in?
Life can happen to us all in very unexpected ways. Today may be the last time you mow your yard.
How strange that something so innocuous, something I have previously considered a chore, can carry so much emotion with it. As I walked I kept thinking, "This will be the last time I mow this yard." Over and over. And I wonder now about other things. Will this be the last time I close my gate? Will this be the last time my kids go down the playground slide? Will this be the last time I hear my neighbors across the way playing in their pool? Will this be the last time it rains while we live here?
Even as I ruminate on all this I realize that we can never know when our last times will be. Will this be the last time I kiss my children before they go to school? Will this be the last time I pray with a friend at church? Will this be the last time I rest my head on my pillow and drift to sleep? Thinking about these questions can't help but raise one more: Knowing every moment may be the last moment, am I satisfied with the moments I am living right now? Have I wrung all the joy and life and love out of every moment I find myself in?
Life can happen to us all in very unexpected ways. Today may be the last time you mow your yard.
posted by Chris at
2:15 PM
1 Comments:
Chris, This brought me to tears! I LOVE reading your blog b/c you're so REAL. Kyle and I are going to miss you and your awesome family. Don't be a stranger and come visit often. :-) We love y'all! ~H.
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