With warmer weather on the horizon, Grace and I recently decided to start doing some work in our backyard so that we could spend more time outdoors this summer. Last year was a bit of a challenge since I was post-op and on crutches so we had catching up to do and wanted to double down.
Taking stock of our backyard, we decided that we could use a little more patio space and decided to expand the space sideways. We would dig up the grass and add in pavers/gravel so that we could comfortably fit our outdoor furniture along with a nice picnic table. One of the many things that we didn’t take into consideration before starting this journey was that neither of us had the slightest idea on how to do this.
After watching several hours of YouTube videos, I decided that I was now a landscaping pro/general contractor and confidently stomped into Lowes. Like an expert, I filled my trolley with sand, different tools, rolls of weed barrier and a literal ton of stone. We packed these new goodies into our cars and started off on our DIY journey.
After spending hours digging and slowly coming to the realization that I had no idea what I was doing, I took a sip of my Red Bull and slowly considered my options. I turned back to my friend, YouTube, queued up a few videos and approximately 6 hours of work later, we finally had a plot of land ready for the next phase of work. See below to admire what 12 hours of work and 3 trips to Lowes gets you when you hire my services.
Before:
After:
Amazing how several hours of labor and hundreds of dollars spent can somehow make your backyard look worse. I know.
After calling it a night, I soaked in a warm tub with some Epsom salt mixed in. I reflected on this experience in between muscle aches and groans of agony. Was this all even worth it? Why did we decide to even do this? What the heck was I even thinking?
But jokes aside, the space is coming along nicely and should hopefully be done in time for a get together that we have planned in a few weeks. It’s been fun working towards a goal and even though it doesn’t have the glean of professional work, I’m proud that we undertook a project together and had fun in the process. We also saved a ton of money when comparing against some of the estimates that we saw online and I think there will be a small sense of pride every time we enjoy that little patch of our backyard.
As silly as it may sound, this whole experience was a reminder that most things that are worth it in life are earned. Money cannot buy deep relationships and trust is earned in drops (but lost in buckets). Recently a few opportunities have presented itself that will hopefully work out for the best. However, regardless of where these potential paths may lead, I hope that I’ll give it my all and truly earn whatever may come out of it. Tilling soil and axing out tree roots may not be glamorous work, but the path less traveled rarely is. As my alma matter loved to say, keep chopping!
Have a great week ahead.