No Matter What, The Lawn Still Needs to Be Mowed

A wise man (my high school cross-country coach) once told said: "No matter what happens on Saturday, the lawn still needs to be mowed."  This statement came at the end of a story about the coach on the Sunday after the track and field state championship in two consecutive years.  The first year, the track team had been just barely edged out of first place by a rival team.  Coach was out mowing the lawn the next day.  The following year, the team won the state championship.  Despite his happiness, Coach was still out mowing the lawn the next day.  Upon reflection, he came up with the statement above.

I am become Death,
destroyer of dandelions

Always looking for deeper meaning in the mundane experiences of my life, I thought more about this statement and what it might mean.  I found that in my life, no matter what happened, either good or bad, there were a certain number of things that I had to continue doing.  During college, I had to do homework, work on projects, and take tests.  These were non-negotiable activities, so a couple hours after I proposed to my fiancée, we were both back in the library, hitting the books.  I had finals after my grandfather died and a race the day after my grandmother died.  And now, after graduating from college, I am going to (literally) mow the lawn.

Instead of feeling brought down by the responsibilities of day-to-day life,  they ground me and keep me moving forward in my life.  I can't afford to wallow in my sorrows or rest on my laurels because life will pass me by.  So in a couple hours, the lawn in the picture above will be empty of dandelions and I will have moved a little bit further from the excitement of graduation and a little bit closer to the next big event in my life, whatever that may be.