Backyards

I've been thinking a lot about backyards lately. As I walk Sarah to and from the park I stare at backayards and what people do with them. Some people have beautiful shaded areas for reading and playing. Others have barren lawns littered with pet waste. The later of the two always seems like a giant shame to me. There are other yards that I imagine what I would do with if I happened to own the property.

I'll admit it, when I owned a house I lamented yard work. Mowing the lawn, picking up after the dog; it seemed like I was rarely enjoying it but rather taking care of it. (We also happened to have the misfortune of needing to tear-out, regrade, and re-plant our yard in the early years at our house). That said we did always have large fruitful gardens and a lovely area for evening "campfires." The down-time we did have in our space was very relaxing.

Fast-forward three years and suddenly I miss that yard A LOT! A series of moves, job-changes and simplification decisions (IE me being a stay-at-home mom) means that we are not going to be in a financial position to own a home any time soon. While I love my low-maintenance rental town-home, the shared grassy patch is small and treated with lots of nasty chemicals. I have Sarah pretty well trained to stay on the sidewalk which in and of itself is very sad to me. Luckily we live in a very nice area that has plentiful parks which we can walk to. The local municipality does not treat the park grass which is a huge bonus. I can only imagine that as Sarah grows and we eventually grow our family that I will long for a yard more and more. I already wish for a fenced are that I could let Sarah run "at will" (still supervised but not so governed). A place to once again grow my garden, a space that my dog is welcome (none of the parks where I live allow pets), a space for campfires, a space where I can leave a toy in the grass while we go inside to have lunch, and most importantly a place to hang a swing.

So why I am writing about backyards? Because I miss having one and if you have one I want you to take a moment to remember how great it is. Why else am I writing? To get over it; here are the things that I can love about being yard-less right now:

1)I don't have to mow or dig weeds
2)I am pushed to leave home, IE - we now have a bigger backyard which includes: the zoo, children's museum, parks, the library and our extended neighborhood.
3) Being yard-less is allowing me to have the most fulfilling job in the universe right now.