一昨日、私はジャングルになっていた庭と戦った。何で、このひどい状態になる前に草取りしなかったのか、不思議なことだ。今まで、草取りで何回も苦しんでいた。こういうパターンを繰り返す。まず、[庭はヤバイ！自分たちはできない！無理！プロに電話しよう！] で、プロに電話したら、[ マジで❓高すぎ！絶対に出さん。自分でする。] と、すねているような子供みたいに決める。
The day before yesterday, I battled the jungle that is my yard. I always wonder why I let it get this bad. I don't know how many times I have suffered like this, having to pull weeds and cut grass in the jungle-like situation. This is the kind of cycle that I tend to repeat. "Oh my gosh! Look at this yard! It's terrible! There's no way we can do this ourselves! Let's call the pros." Then, after we call the pros, this is what I say. "Are you kidding me? That's way too expensive! There's no way I'm paying that! I'll do it myself! I'm like a sulking kid who realizes he has to do his chores all by himself.
The kids can finally play again on their iron bar. We don't have a word for tetsubo in English so I made it up!
昨日、友達が、[草刈機があると？] と聞いた。笑った。あるけど、庭の草は私より高かった。使うどころじゃなかった。やけん、ダイソーに行って、軍手とカマを買って、1人頑張ろう！と決めた。夫はよく助けてくれるけど、昨日子供たちをバーベキューに連れて言った。私は、頭がまぁまぁいいけど、時々常識を忘れることがある。昨日はそんな日だった。
So my friend said to me, "Do you have a lawnmower? "That made me laugh. Well, yeah, I do, but the yard is in no shape for a lawnmower. I mean, there are weeds taller than I am! So I headed off to the 100 yen shop to buy some gloves and a scythe. I was planning on tackling this task alone. My husband helps a lot but yesterday, he took the kids to barbecue. I am relatively intelligent; however, there are many times I entirely lack common sense. Yesterday was one of those days.
まず、準備がダメやった。ジャングルに入る前に、服装を考えるべきだけど、私はサンダルと半袖のTシャツと長ズボンの姿だった。一応帽子をかぶっていたけど、あまり私のバリバリ白い肌を守れんかったに違いない。私は白い肌なのに、日焼け止めも塗らんかった。めっちゃ暑かったのに。バカやろう？常識は、どこだ？
First of all, my preparation was awful. Generally before you enter a jungle, you need to think about your clothes. But I just wore sandals, a short sleeve shirt, and long pants. I wore a hat but it was pretty flimsy, so I doubt it protected my pearly white skin from the sun all that much. Speaking of my pearly white skin, I didn't use any sunscreen either. Yeah, my lack of common sense scares me.
頭を振り乱して草取りをした。めちゃくちゃ高くなっていた草の根っこを、なかなかかまで切れんかった。けど、切れるまで根性で頑張った。なんか、カマだけで草取りをすると、バリかっこいい戦士になった感じだ。ジャングルはだんだんなくなってきたけん、やる気はさらに出た。たまに休んだけど、すぐ仕事に戻った。隣の家に住んでいるおじいさんが、私を注意した。[1日で全部できるわけじゃなかろう? ちょっとずつ草取りをしてよー。疲れるバイ！] 一応、その言葉を聞いたけど、その後30分働き続けた。
On day 2 of tacking the yard, my hubby was a big help, and I tried not to overdo it.
I tackled that jungle like a crazy woman. The weeds had gotten so tall that I had a hard time chopping the root, so I kept trying and trying like a crazed maniac until I finally cut it. There is something about using only a scythe to cut the grass and weeds in your yard. You feel like some crazy cool warrior or something. So anyway, as I started to tame the jungle, I got even more motivated. Every now and then I took a break for water, but always got right back to work. The grandpa next door scolded me. He said, "Hey, take it easy! You can't do it all in one day. Do a little at a time. You're going to wear yourself out." I took his words to heart. But I still worked another 30 minutes after he said that.
始まってから3時間経った頃に、庭は周りの人に見られても恥ずかしくない程度になっていた。今日は、取った草を全部ゴミ袋に入れなあかん。けど、私はせん。夫にやらせる。昨日、彼はバーベキューから帰ってきた時、[あ、疲れた！昼寝をする！] と言った。叩きたかったわ。焼肉を食べるのに、そんなに疲れると？ウケる🤣
So yesterday, three hours after I began, I got my yard into a condition where I am not ashamed for the neighbors to look at it. So today we have to put all the grass into garbage bags. But I ain't doing that. Heck no. I'll make my husband do it. Yesterday after he came back from the barbecue, he said, "Man, I am beat! I think I'll take a nap. "I wanted to punch him in the nose. Just kidding. I thought, Does it take that much energy to eat grilled meat? Hilarious.
After I was finished with the yard, I had a bloody nose for the first time in three years. And this morning my back hurt so bad that I could hardly stand up. So yeah, I think I overdid it. I think I'm going to ask God for extra dose of common sense next time we chat. Anyway, the yard looks great. It is a lot of work to take care of the yard, but unlike many Japanese people, I have zero distain for grass. I actually am crazy about it. When I was looking for a house to rent, one condition was that it had to have grass.
アメリカでは、カマは普通に売ってないらしい。日本の田舎育ち、アメリカ在住している日本人の友達が、ロスのダイソーでカマを見つけたら、めっちゃ嬉しかった。アメリカ人の庭愛は伝説的だ。庭のお世話する道具や機械は笑えるくらい多い。家を購入する多くの人は、大きな庭を一つの大事な条件にする。特に、男性の方は庭に神経質になる。アメリカの男性は、庭の世話とバーベキューのスキルのプライドはマジ半端ない。やけん、バリ高い乗る草刈機と、50キロの高級なグリルは、全国の男性の憧れなんだ。
It seems that the scythe isn't even available in most American stores. My Japanese friend, who was raised in the country, was filled with glee when she found a scythe at a Los Angeles Daiso. American's love affair with their yards is legendary. You wouldn't believe the number of tools and machines available for lawn care. For many Americans, a big yard is an important requirement when looking to buy a house. Guys are particularly anal about their yards. American guys take a huge amount of pride in both their lawns and their barbecuing skills. That's why most men long for those crazy expensive riding lawn mowers and 50 kilo luxury grills.
小さい時、夏休みの間に毎日芝生の上に裸足で走ったり、遊んだりした。説明ができないくらい気持ちよかった。やけん、日本に来て、殆どの庭は土や砂利であることに気づいたら、マジ残念だなぁと思った。だから、今年の夏は子供の時と同じように、裸足で庭で子供と遊ぼうかな。ただジャングルにならないように、定期的にお世話せなあかん。そうしないと、またおじいさんに注意されるかも。。。
When I was a kid, I would run around every day barefoot and play in the awesome grass in my yard. I can't even explain or put into words how great it is to walk around barefoot on American grass. So when I came to Japan and saw that most yards were just gravel and dirt, I thought it was a crying shame. I think I'm gonna play barefoot in the grass with my kids this summer, too. Only, I need to be sure to take care of it on a regular basis so it doesn't turn into a jungle again. If I don't I might get scolded by the grandpa next-door again...
P.S. 今日の筋肉痛は半端ない。うちももが痛すぎて、普通に歩けるか、心配だ。
P.S. I am so sore today you wouldn't believe it. My hamstrings hurt so bad, I wonder if I will be able to walk like normally.