Weeding & Feeding

I'd planned on rest and relax on Sunday. 

But Sunday morning was gloriously beautiful, and when I stepped outside with my coffee, my thought was that I ought to plant the tomatoes I'd bought on Friday before I started relaxing.  I came inside to put on my shoes, collect my gardening gear, and mix up some fertilizer.  While doing this, I remembered other little jobs that needed doing, and so instead of walking across the road with a trowel and a pack of tomatoes as I'd envisioned over the coffee, I drove across the road on the lawnmower, pulling a wagon-load of tools and supplies. 

I planted the tomatoes, ran the tiller, fertilized, staked the sweet peas, mowed the grass around the garden.  As I was doing this, Nephew Bradley - the same Nephew Bradley who had enjoyed planting tomatoes two days ago - showed up on his bicycle.  He stopped at the fence.  "S'up, Bradley?" I asked him. 

He shrugged. 

"Sunday afternoon?"

"Yeah," he said.  He lingered on his bike, toeing the gravel with his shoe.  I just knew he was going to ask if I needed help, and I was already making a mental list of things for him to do.  "Well, I'll see you later," he said abruptly, and rode on down the driveway to Nanny's house.  Phooey. I kept working, thinking there was a chance I'd snag him on his way back.

A few minutes later, he rode past me again.  "Bye!" he called, without even stopping.

A little while later he was back at the fence, straddling his bike.  "I'm bored," he said when I looked up.

Hah!  I had him!  I stood up, shaded my eyes with my hand, and gave him a thoughtful look, as if I was trying to come up with a good idea for him.  "Well, do you want some work?" I asked, expecting him to jump at the chance.

"NO!" he said without hesitation. 

I laughed, thinking he was just teasing.  I looked down to adjust the velcro straps on my gardening gloves, planning to offer to "let" him run the tiller, but when I looked up again, he was GONE.  I looked down the road and saw him sailing down the hill on his bike, standing on the pedals as if he'd been pumping hell for leather to get away.  Hmph.  I went back to work. 

Nearly five hours later, I gave out, without even having finished everything I wanted to do.