REGULAR PEOPLE DO MORE

Regular people do what needs to get done.

From doing the easy stuff, to the hard stuff, they take their shot.

You’ll recognize them when you see someone and wonder why they’re out doing what they.

For example:

Yesterday I looked outside and saw everything covered in leaves from maple and oak trees, yellow pods from a fir tree, a carpet of messy seasonal work.

As a regular people sort of person, I knew what to do: wait for my wife to call someone on her list, wait for the city to clean the street with their street sweeper, or?

Or what?

Regular people know the ‘or what’ part.

I got out rakes, shovels, scoopers, scrapers, bags, and bins.

I filled up everything three days ahead of trash and yard pick-up.

In other words I did enough to stay in good standing in the neighborhood.

Doing enough works.

I don’t live in a national park, or celebrated house, with everything just so.

We were once on a garden club tour circuit that went around to beautiful yards.

That’s the extent of my yard brag.

Now it’s the home turf of a big dog, our big dog, the best girl ever.

She’s out there doing dog things and finishing with digging her back paws into the yard and flower beds and going ‘ditch-witch’ digging and throwing debris behind her.

It’s a dog thing, I suppose, since I’ve seen it happen before.

I patch things up, then take her for a walk since I don’t want her messing up other yards,

 

Yard Work For Regular People

Growing up in a small town like North Bend, Oregon included yard work.

As an adult I decided to live in city apartments. Not so much yard work in a studio apartment.

Single guy, small apartment, view of a parking lot. I called it perfect.

Then I met my future wife and moved to a one bedroom apartment down the street in Northwest Portland’s Lovejoy Street.

There was a lot of love on Lovejoy.

Not long after the move, we were expecting our first and moved to inner southeast on 11th to a three bedroom apartment.

Not long after that we moved to the suburbs and a house smaller than our last apartment.

Why?

We were expecting our second baby and my wife didn’t want city life.

She grew up in city life.

 

Me: Did you have a grassy field to play in during grade school?

Wife: No, just pavement.

 

She grew up with regular people in Los Angeles.

 

Good Habits For Life

For the past twenty odd years we’ve been in the same house.

It’s a bigger house, the biggest I’ve ever lived in, and we’ve had the down-sizing talk.

With kids grown and on their own, with the in-laws passing, what was once a household of six is down to two.

The problem with making such a move is the cost of a new place.

We’d pay more for less, which means we’re not moving anytime soon.

Besides, it’s a neighborhood with two people houses.

Ours was a beautiful ‘entertainer’s home’ when we first saw it.

Great furniture with a matching theme, intuitively arranged for a special appeal.

Then we moved all of our crap in like regular people do.

I had my own closet with a carousel, which was cool until I hung all my crap up.

Safe to say I’m not a luxury guy with an appreciation of where my clothes hang and what the furniture looks like.

Clean clothes and a comfy couch is enough.

A good wife the first time is enough.

Kids who know their way around is enough.

Getting the right dog is enough.

It’s enough for regular people.