Have you heard that cutting grass can be a meditative experience? With any act, bringing your attention and awareness to that moment can become spiritually enlightening. Yesterday afternoon I spent about two hours cutting the grass in our front yard… with only a pair of scissors.
This is not something I will be making a habit of. But it’s something that needed to be done because our grass, at its tallest, was more than a foot high.
The push mower I ordered won’t arrive until Saturday at the earliest and all the recent rain meant that an electric mower was not the ideal tool to use on wet grass. This didn’t seem to deter a lot our neighbours though, as I heard one lawn mower go off after another the whole time I was outside.
Of course, I felt a little bit conspicuous at first, wielding a pair of normal scissors, crouching down on the grass.
My introverted self: What are the neighbours going to think of me? Just another weird Asian using scissors to cut grass. Finally, they’re looking after their lawn…
You know what? Who cares? Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Then I simply started cutting and got into it. There is something both therapeutic and meditative about the act of cutting. The repetitive motion of my fingers, trying to achieve the same grass height – though I was not at all concerned about a perfect cut – as well as the visual result of clearing the space.
I also imagined that I was Dex chomping on the grass at one point. Maybe that’s an overshare and we’re getting into crazy cat lady territory. But I did think of him and found some peace while I took care of our lawn.
One thing we have neglected to purchase since we moved here is a lawn mower. Matt has a very strong hate of lawn maintenance as that was his responsibility when we lived in Toronto. We went through four of five lawn mowers, none of which survived our move. My brother-in-law was generous enough to mow our lawn last summer and fall. Then, before we knew it, winter came. So we didn’t need to get one.
But now that summer is just around the corner again, it was time to get something. I chose to go for a push reel mower rather than an electric one, despite some advice not to. Since I will be taking over the lawn care for now, I did not want the hassle or the noise of an electric mower. If we don’t have a perfect looking lawn, so be it. Plus, if an old school mower doesn’t work, I can just go back to using scissors.
Not likely! Therapeutic or not, there are other ways I can find peace and have done so this past week.
"Where Flowers Bloom, So Does Hope" - Lady Bird Johnson
My sister recently told us about a house close to hers that had a huge tulip garden in front. She was not joking.
Tulips are one of my favourite flowers, so this was a feast for my eyes and soul. We were actually here the day before we said goodbye to Dex and then again a few days after. The flowers were still in bloom, which is not typical of them, but because the weather had been colder this May it helped them last longer.
Previously, the couple had poppies in place of the tulips, which would have been a beautiful sight. But I think it’s harder to get them at a decent price these days or maybe they didn’t grow as well. Whatever the case, their garden is a big local attraction and I will be curious as to what blooms next.
The Purrfect Cup Cat Cafe
Last Friday we had a family outing to The Purrfect Cup Cat Cafe. How strange to think that Saskatoon is where we went to our first cat cafe.
Parking the car downtown is always eventful. Matt had come to my aid to deter a man from asking me for money when I went to pay for parking.
Once we were out of the Wild West, we entered a new wild territory. We were warned about certain bold kitties who may try to help themselves to your food, which is why our food was presented in takeout containers.
As soon as our food was brought to us, he woke up and made himself right at home…
He managed to stick his paw in not only Matt’s cake, but Whitney’s too. He was not shy at all about inviting himself to the afternoon snack party. His name was Elmo.
It was surprisingly busy there, with over twenty cats, and almost as many people at one point. Most seemed to be couples on dates. We were the only family with young kids.
Cat pee smell aside, we got to pet a whole lotta cats. Something I had been aching to do for days.
The strangest thing about the visit was that I did not hear single meow from one of the cats! And also it showed me how well cats can get along with each other in the same environment!
All the cats there are up for adoption, but that is not something we’ll be doing just yet.
Two More Tried and True Therapeutic Things
While only a temporary pick-me-up, shopping therapy can be just the lighthearted thing you need to get out of a funk.
Over the weekend, Whitney and I got to do a bit of shopping. We finally found a grad dress to her liking at Marshalls and also got to shop three or four bags of clothes from my sister’s closet! Now I am guilty of shopping someone else’s closet.
These were clothes that my sister had set aside because they no longer fit. There were lots of vintage Lululemon, Gap, J. Crew, Jacob and various concert tees that we scored. I’m glad she hadn’t found the time to donate them yet.
And last but not least, moving my body is another way I’ve been trying to maintain my composure. Now that we have a car, I walk far less than I did in Toronto, so I try to fit in three days of thirty minutes of cardio/strength/hiit workouts. If I’m feeling a little less energetic, I will opt for a yoga workout and especially like Mady Morrison’s channel. Getting a good stretch in can be enough some days.
