Raking Leaves

Sunday. There was no Patriots game on TV today so I decided to work in the yard. I just came in from raking three tons of leaves that were blown into my front yard by yesterday’s wind. I don’t have any deciduous trees on my property – someone tell me why I have to rake all these leaves. (Sometimes I feel like going around the neighborhood and asking the neighbors to come and get their leaves. )

But, I guess sharing dog and tree droppings with your neighbors is just a few examples of the price one pays to live in the “leafy suburbs” - as the newspapers like to call the towns outside of the commuter parking lot (Route 128) that encircles Boston to the west.

The forecast for tonight is snow. It feels like it. The air is cold, still, full of moisture.

I am flushed from the invigoration of 3 hours of exercise. (No, dear, it’s not from the frosty Sierra Nevada that I am enjoying as I recount my afternoon's labors.)

I have always enjoyed raking leaves. It is one of those tasks that you can do and then point to the results. Look everyone, I made a difference. See how nice my lawn looks. Look at that pile of leaves!

Most of my working life was spent in the corporate arena. I was usually involved with info systems development projects in some sort of coordinating role. The fun parts where I was actually doing data analysis or defining systems requirements were considerably offset by hours of tedious, ego centric staff meetings or pressure-cooker emergencies created by some clueless, but powerful executive.

Sitting in stalled expressway traffic on the way home after a day of meetings and unnecessary stress, a voice would ask, “What have I accomplished?” Usually, the answer was something like “Well, I earned a day’s pay and I didn’t get fired.” Then I would come home and have a few scotches to help erase the indignity of working in a bureaucracy[1].

Given the sedentary and cyclical nature of my professional life, I always got a great deal of satisfaction from active tasks that gave a measurable result: Painting a wall, shoveling snow, mowing the lawn, weeding the garden, writing my blog – all these efforts produced a visible result. [2]

The other thing I just noticed about my list: I am my own boss.

-- er, what's that dear? Yes I'm almost done. No, this is only my first beer.

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[1] Since I have been “on sabbatical” I have reduced my alcohol consumption by 800%.

[2] Perhaps I would have been happier in my work life if I had been a builder….…of bridges.