So, what can’t I live without? I want to say my phone, or food, or something else I absolutely need, but I won't. The thing I can’t live without is my lawn mower. Now, I know you are definitely saying I can live without a lawn mower, but my mower is my connection to my family.

In third grade, when we moved from a tiny apartment in New Jersey to an acre lot here in Wisconsin, my family found the need for a lawn mower.  I have no clue how old this green piece of crap is, but I do know we got this old John Deere little tractor off of Craigslist eight  years ago. As soon as my brother could reach the petal, he was mowing and learning as he went. This was just the start of the problems.

My Dad was transferred to Iowa in 2020 due to covid, and my brother left for college in 2022, so it has just been my mom and I at home recently. I was 14 when I started mowing the lawn, and boy did it suck. I didn’t mind the mowing part so much as the fixing part. I forgot to tell you, the lawn mower breaks way too much for mowing to be efficient. At first, it started breaking once a month, and I could go inside and grab my brother or dad to come help me fix it. Today, it probably brakes at least twice every time I mow. Right now, I am just imagining the bliss of mowing the lawn without worrying about the wheel coming off, or the engine starting on fire, oh, what a life.  

Every time the lawn mower breaks, the same process starts: make sure there is no smoke coming out of the hood, then check the front wheels. If they are both attached and facing the same way, I check the back wheels. Then the belts. Once I find the problem, If I've seen it before it is usually a pretty easy 20-minute fix, for example, reattaching the steering mechanisms, or the wheel that likes to fall off. But If I don’t know what is wrong, or how to fix it, I call my brother, and If he is at a loss, I call my dad. I remember everything the green lawn mower has done for me--from connecting me to my family, or teaching me skills I will use for the rest of my life. I can probably build a lawn mower from parts at this point and this helped me realize I want to be an engineer. 

Yes, living without this lawn mower would be great. But the trade of ease over hearing my brother and dad explain something for twenty minutes is just not worth it. This lawn mower keeps my family close even if it is a real pain in the butt, and I truly don’t know if I could live without it.