Lawn Mitzvah
Today was the day was the day that Cooper crossed over from child to man. Sort of. He at least took his first step at learning a trade. It was a free day. No soccer games. No committements. It was a good opportunity to pass along a skill. Today was the day we fired up the mower and let him have a crack at mowing the grass. I felt like Mr. Miyagi handing down the bonzai tree trimming shears.

The exciting part about the boy wanting to mow is that I didn't have to employ the persuasive skills of Tom Saywer to get Cooper to mow. He simply wanted to do it. I took advantage and harness the raw energy of his youth.

At 9 years old, Cooper didn't have the strength to start the mower. After explaining the regular gas vs the oil mix gas pitfalls, I demonstrated the choke (pumping of the bulb) and let her rip. The old girl (11 years old) was off and running. I handed off the mower handle. Cooper took the "reigns" (safety bar) and awkwardly began moving the machine with short clumsly pulses using the propel trigger. After getting pointed in the right direction, he was off and moving. A natural.

He did pretty well. The lines were mostly straight. There were a few that got a bit swervy. Not even on my drunkest summer afternoon would I get that astray, but for a first time he performed well. In his defense, the mower is self propelled and can be somewhat difficult to handle at first try. Cooper's efforts were mostly in open spaces. I had to step in and work around bushes and obstacles. There was a skill he has yet to master. He didn't understand the fulcrum of renegotiating the mower turns by pushing down on the mower handle to lift the front wheels and turning on a radius. This is a precise and graceful craft only perfected through years of practice. Cooper left patches of long grass at every turn point which I had to go back and correct.

For those who know me, I do enjoy mowing the grass. I am not crazy, but definitely a fan of Forrest Gump. Having a lawn that rivals a golf course is a weekly objective for me between March and October. Mowing is a solitude only truly cherished by fathers (or parents). Not sure the females have tapped into this yet. I enjoy putting in the headphones (I recommend noice reducing ear buds) and setting aside an hour or so. I don't even care if it is hot.

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The part Cooper really got excited about was the leaf blower. Without any instruction, I turned him loose throwing leaves and clippings all around. Surprisingly enough, he got all the concreate areas cleaned up.

To cap off the entire mowing experience, we sat and threw down a couple cold ones. No, not really.

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