A Much Needed Day In The Sun

This past Friday I took the day off work to get some yard work done around the house. Saturdays are the only day of the week that I really have to get things done (since church is on Sunday) and for the past five or so Saturdays I had been helping my dad do things to get ready for and have the garage sale which left no time for the things I wanted to get done around my own house. So, I decided to take a day off from work so I could maybe get some things accomplished for myself. 

Thursday night my brother and I traded vehicles. He has a truck and I needed to haul gravel and mulch so he dropped his truck at my house and took my car with him. I got up bright and early on Friday morning and was at C.T. Garvin Feed and Seed at 7:00 a.m. when their doors opened. I bought a scoop of gravel and was back home before 7:30 a.m. I parked the truck and went to put the tailgate down and couldn't for the life of me get it to budge. The next thing I knew half of the handle had broken off in my hand. I don't even know my own strength, people. So, I called my brother and asked if there was a trick to getting the tailgate down to which he replied no and then I had to confess I had torn the handle. I then jumped in the bed of the truck and started scooping gravel and tossing it into my "driveway". After 30 minutes or so my neighbor Jeff came out and gave the tailgate a try (you could still lift the part of the handle that didn't break) and he couldn't get it to budge either. Then my cousin Randy drove by and stopped and to make the story a little shorter, Randy had to take the back panel off the tailgate to manual move the gears to get the tailgate down. 

I finished up the gravel and then headed back to Garvin to get a scoop of mulch. Well, actually I made a detour to Advanced Auto Parts first. I inquired about a tailgate handle for my brother's truck. There was one in town that they could have at the Five Points location within a couple of hours. It was $115. I almost had a heart attack; but, since I had broken the handle, I forked over the money. I then got my mulch and in the meantime Randy had looked up online the pricing for the tailgate handle. He found one for $30 (with shipping). So, I went back to Advanced Auto and got a refund and then went home and ordered the part at the lower price. 

I had to put the tailgate up when I got mulch so the mulch wouldn't go flying out the back and once again couldn't get the tailgate down. Randy stopped by again and again took the back panel off to get the tailgate down, but not before breaking the other part of the handle first. 

I spent the rest of the day raking leaves, putting mulch in my four flower beds, trimming shrubs, pulling weeds and mowing grass. When all was said and done, I had worked from 7:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. with a break here and there for food an beverage. I was covered in dirt and dust and surely smelled terrible. The yard, however, looked great. I was so proud of myself and all the hard work I put in. I've always had someone help me do these things (mulch, gravel, shrubs) and this was the first time I had knocked it all out by myself. It was a super proud moment. 

After I was done with all the work, I drove out to the Infiniti dealership where my brother works to trade vehicles with him. I'm sure I was the homeliest looking person to ever step foot in there. When I got home, I showered and got ready for the football game and laid down for a few minutes; but, not for long lest I fall asleep and miss the game. I was beyond tired by the time that evening rolled around; but, it was worth it. I'm so glad to have gotten all the yard work done and to spend some time away from the office and in the sun soaking up some vitamin D from sun rays rather than capsules. Winter is coming, and we are ready at the Parker house.