Sit or Stand

Back in early summer of '75, still living in Florence, Al, we had been married a year and a few months. We had moved to a little cottage. It seemed back in the woods to this city girl. It was a cute little greenish  house (1 bdrm), it sat a good ways off the road and it had a huge yard. Oblivious, we didn't see the yard 'cause after a month that thing needed mowing. Guess what??? No lawn mower. As I've heard my daddy say, we didn't have a pot to pee in or a window to throw it out. Just living on love!! Back then Florence didn't have a mall so Sears was located down town. We put on our best clothes (Lol) and got all excited 'cause we were gonna make our first Big purchase. I guess I was more excited about a mower than he was 'cause that was one of the three things I could do before I got married, mow. You see he knew what he was gettin'. There had been  many a day (back home) when he came for a short visit, before he went to work, and there I sat riding high on our riding lawn mower. Of course I always had a feeling he might drop by so I douse myself in perfume (Evening in Iuka") 'cause that gasoline and grass scent would chase him off. We made a lot of future plans on that lawn mower. Anyway as we were going in Sears I ask Sammy if I could pick out the color and he could pick the best one. Now y'all I had never been to a store to pick out a lawn mower so I was like a kid in a candy shop. While Sammy found a salesman I immediately found the color, Red and a decent seat. (I was sorta used to a ripped to pieces kinda seat). I was sitting on My mower when Sammy found me. He turned a little pale.
Sammy: Check out this green one. (We're not taking about a John Deer green either)
Me: Well, It ain't gotta seat on it.
Sammy: (whispering) we can't afford one with a seat.
Me: Ok but that's a lot of yard we got, and I gotta walk behind this????
Sammy:Yeah but I'll help.
I don't know what we were thinking a mower was gonna cost but it was more than what I had in my purse and he had in his billfold. The salesman said no problem just fill out this credit application and you can come back when it's approved. We did, hoping we would hear something soon 'cause we past the house going home, that grass was getting on up there. About 3 days later they called and said, We Were Turned Down. Said, we didn't have any credit to check and the salesman should have told us that day. That lawn mower was around $70. Lord, I called Sammy just a crying. He said, baby one of these days we are gonna buy a mower and we will pay cash. I guess the good Lord had his eye on us, can't you just see us bring that lawn mower home in the trunk of a Volkswagen (y'all know where the trunk is on a V W, don't cha). We would have taken one that was already put together 'cause we would have had to buy some tools and that wasn't gonna happen.  Daddy brought his riding mower for us to use this first time, so I could mow that pasture.Lol!  I'm happy to report......we saved up and paid cash for a used one.(multicolor)
Oh and that "I'll help" part only happened twice in our marriage. Once at this same house, I was mowing and ran over a wasp or a yellow jackets nest in the ground and hundreds of them when up my shorts. By the time I ran that mile to the house I had absolutely no clothes on... NUTTIN'... NOTHING! Now keep in mind we hadn't been married very long so.... Sammy is behind this gigantic stereo console cabinet we had, hooking up speakers and I run right past him screaming and holding my butt (sorry, don't even try and picture that). Well, he starts hollerin' hold on I'm coming. I run in the bathroom and jump in the shower for some cold water relieve on my BEE hind. I hear him mumbling something and I pull the shower curtain back and he was taking off his pants. Me: What are you doing?
Sammy: What are you doing?
Me : Just look at my butt.
Sammy: OMG!! What did you do?
ME: (crying) I ran over some bees, I guess?
Sammy: (pulling up his pants) What can I do?
Me: Just go the drugstore and get SOMETHING, 'cause I'm swelling.
He could have come back with the whole store and nothing would have helped. That night...
Me:  I don't know what I'm gonna do I can't sleep on my back or wear any drawers.
Sammy: Well if it will help you any... I wont either.

 I guess we all can go from SYMPATHETC to PATHETIC sometimes. I slept on the couch that night.

He had to finish mowing the next day and it was easy finding the mower, just had to follow the trail of dead bees.
The other time: I was very pregnant with Nikki and I just couldn't mow. Guess what?? He only mowed the front yard. I ask, what about the back yard??? Ahhh, It don't matter, you can't see the back from the front yard.

I never got a riding mower till we moved back to Iuka. I've gone through 2 since we have lived here. You ladies may wanna sit down for this but... he bought me a brand new Red one for Mother's Day several, several years ago. Back in late October (of last year) I was out mulching leaves in the front yard  and it caught on fire.  Luckily my brother, Keith, was in the backyard helping me. He tried to help put it out but
'ol Big Red is a goner. Just my luck! I'm back to the beginning, I got a push mower and .... its RED! LOL!

Dear Lord,
Weather you sit or stand beside me it really doesn't matter just as long as I feel your presence. There is no other feeling like that and I love that feeling Lord. Thank you for letting me look back and thinking about my "Honey Bee". Bless my family, friends and blog readers. Amen.