Lessons in Humility — The first year of Homeownership

"A weed is a plant that has mastered every survival skill except for learning how to grow in rows." — Doug Larson

I bought a house in March, and as a first-time homebuyer I am learning a lot of things. From time to time, I will probably share thoughts on that experience in this space. Today's lesson comes in the garden, or yard, or whatever I'm going to call the wilds that surround our house.

For the last five years in Paso Robles, I lived in a small apartment. Technically I had a side yard, but mostly it was a square of rocks. There were occasional weeds, which I plucked once or twice a year. Mostly, I didn't think about my outdoor space.

When we moved to Colorado, Lindsay and I were in an apartment again. This time, our only outdoor space consisted of a patio with no greenery. I didn't think much of gardening — and judging by what I saw — neither did the management at our apartment.

Then our house hunt began. Somewhere in my mind I realized that we would get a sizeable front and back yard with our home. That was sort of a selling point. But, you see, we hunted in January, made our offer in January, and went through the process of buying the home during February. It was cold, snowy, and barren then.

Even in March and April, that remained the case. In fact, we had a blizzard every week in April, so it wasn't conducive to growth. But this month, that all changed.

Somehow, over night, my lawn area went from barren to jungle. This is something that hasn't escaped the notice of my wife and I. Of course, now owning a home that has ample yard space, has created yet more work...

Lindsay was first to tackle the weeds in a good, hard hour of work. Then we tag-teamed it on Monday. for another hour, and we're still not done. From buying gardening tools and supplies to spending time working on the yard, it's been an experience.

I now have much greater appreciation for those who have magnificent lawns. And, as my wife frequently says, I wish I enjoyed gardening more... cause it's going to be a frequent occurrence for me.