Leaf Blowing and the Marriage Metaphor

I was leaf blowing (like, all weekend--I'm not bitter about it, you are) yesterday and of course Dad's Volvo was in the way. It had taken three guys to help me push it out of the carport weeks ago so the guy could come get the MG and take it away, but yesterday there was no one around to help push it back enough so that I could leaf blow around it.

1990 Classic Brick...Dad's ol' Car.

So I set the blower down, put the car in neutral, and commenced to pushing this thing as hard as I could. Now remember I was leaf blowing, and under my noise protecting ear muffs, I also had my ear buds in so I could shuffle music while I worked. So I'm cut off from the world. Unless you make eye contact with me, we ain't communicating.

So...I start pushing and grunting. It rolls a bit, but rocks back. I start the rocking thing thinking I can get this. And I do! It starts to move, slowly. And sure enough, I'm getting it done. The Volvo is starting to pick up speed--enough speed that I start to think about how and when I'm going to stop it. I'm digging in and shoving until I get to the point I think I need to steer and/or stop and I get up from the front bumper and notice that behind me, unbeknownst to me, my wife had been pushing the whole time too!

And all I could think about is how that, in a way, was a good metaphor for marriage. That someone has your back even if you don't know it. That someone is supporting you in ways you may not even realize unless you take the time to think about them. It was a real life "footprints in the sand" moment for me. My wife does so much I of course take it for granted and rarely thank her for it, or acknowledge it.

I mean, sure, as I blew leaves I was finding whole yellow squash, a pumpkin, and potatoes she'd chunked in the yard "for the squirrels"--and that evening she'd sneezed so loudly I downloaded divorce papers, but I think it best if I, and we other married folk, pondered what we don't see when we have our earbuds in and our earmuffs on.

It's a known fact that squirrels love squash, duh!

-rbm