I found a reel-y good lawn mower!

We are a lot like bears. As soon as it is warm enough to come out of our cave we venture outside and pretty much live there until it is cold again. The only "problem" with being outdoors is the constant struggle with what do to about our lawn. Long story short; we have a push mower---our lawn is too small to use a riding mower. My husband works most of the day and he doesn't really feel like spending his afternoons mowing (that and he really just despises mowing the yard). I cannot (in good conscience) mow the yard with A. James with me. I am just terrified she would get hurt by a rogue rock or stick or something that would come flying out of the side. So, put those two elements into the equation and -----yard doesn't get mowed. Ever. I feel horrible because all my neighbors are mowing their yards every few days and mine looks like jungle animals could move in and feel quite comfortable. I get frustrated because I feel stuck--- and I hate having to depend on other people to do things that I am *technically* able to do (minus the toddler in tow).
To make matters worse I am a "Maximizer" (or so I have recently learned) and being a "Maximizer makes decision making much tougher. This comes from The Happiness Project Blog (that I can't seem to shut up about). As I was reading the list of ten-tips for being happier I came across number


7. Don't insist on the best.
There are two types of decision makers. Satisficers (yes, satisficers) make a decision once their criteria are met. When they find the hotel or the pasta sauce that has the qualities they want, they're satisfied. Maximizers want to make the best possible decision. Even if they see a bicycle or a backpack that meets their requirements, they can't make a decision until they've examined every option. Satisficers tend to be happier than maximizers. Maximizers expend more time and energy reaching decisions, and they're often anxious about their choices. Sometimes good enough is good enough. (taken directly from here).


After reading that I thought, "Wow, that describes me exactly!" I am a Maximizer and I didn't even know it. For years—well, since I became even more obsessive thanks to my Psychology Research classes---I have refused to make any decisions or agree to anything until I have thoroughly exhausted all of my sources and feel 100% confident that---thanks to my weeks/months of research--- that I can make a well-educated decision. This ranges from fairly important decisions (such as continuing to be a vegetarian while pregnant and breastfeeding) to less important decisions (such as what type softie I should make for a friend's birthday party). I become so obsessed with making the "right" decision, it is almost exhausting at times (not to mention that nothing every really gets done). I think I am trying to avoid that awful feeling of disappointment you get when you've made a uneducated decision (like when you buy a pair of jeans for a certain price and then find out they went on sale the NEXT DAY for $10.00 less!!!!). If I had only checked the sales ads before I went!


I found myself repeating this routine in my yard dilemma in whether or not to purchase a Reel Push Mower.
I had a friend blog about using a reel push mower, and how much she liked it to mow her small yard. I have known about reel push mowers for a while, years ago my husband said a woman he worked with used one to keep in shape and she mowed her (several acre) yard with one. I just thought that sounded crazy. However, I started to really think about my situation and how much having a *relatively* safe mower to use would come in handy. This way I could mow with A. James in the yard and not have to worry about it so much. So I started to read---and read----and read-----and (yes) read about reel push mowers. I've spent a few weeks deliberating over whether or not it would be a "bad" decision to get one. In the meantime, my yard continued to grow and grow and (well, you get the point).


Then I was reading the advice from The Happiness Project and it hit me that I was a "maximize" and I started to feel like I had to make some changes. I made the decision to try to slowly stop insisting on the best and just accepting that sometimes good is good enough. This coupled with an two un-working push mowers (my husband tried to start up our push mower and it didn't look like it was going to turn on, so he drove to my mom's house and brought hers back---haha, it wouldn't work either. So we had not one, but two somewhat "new" push mowers sitting in our yard---not working.) This was a great opportunity. I called True Value and asked how long it would take to get a Reel Push Mower. I was expecting a rather awkward conversation like I am accustom to when I call places and ask strange questions but (big surprise) NO! They said that they had not one (but two) floor models in stock at that moment. I asked the brand name---did a quick consumer reports customer satisfaction review (I know, I just can't give it up entirely) and went to the store and put a reel mower that was already put together (BONUS) into my car and drove home. I was planning on waiting until my husband mowed the yard with a working push mower before I gave her a trial run. I had read about how the mowers don't work as well in tall, thick grass. My yard was pretty much all tall, thick grass---but I was very curious and impatient so decided to mow a strip and see.


I was tickled.


It worked so well---even in the tall grass. I didn't mow my entire front yard, but I mowed one section and there was a huge noticeable difference. Yes, there were thicker sections where I had to roll back and forth over the tall weeds, but that was expected. Besides that it worked better than I had imagined. Now, I can mow my yard without having to rely on someone else to help AND with a toddler running around. She actually thought it was pretty cool and wanted to hold the handle and push (which I let her do with minimal worrying).