Are you kidding me?

She offered to pay us to do some yard work and rake the leaves in their yard. At the time it seemed like and insane amount for the task. I said, "Sure we'll do it, Ma."

Now, after close to 9 hours of yard work over 2 days I realize it wasn't nearly enough. It was an incredibly overwhelming job for 2 people with a rake, and a leaf blower/mulcher between them. Sara and I put in 6 hours on Saturday, and then got up and threw in another 3 hours or so on Sunday and the yard still looks like someone should rake it. That yard will never be leaf free.

It's impossible.

I have to think that it was at least 2 years worth of dead leaves if not more. The leaves were so thick that the blower was close to useless. The leaves would just shift and then fall back to the carpet of leaves covering the grass. Frustratingly slow going. It felt like trying to dig a hole in the ocean... with a spoon. This job needed an army of professional landscapers with leaf-blowers, a riding mower and more expertise than the wife and I possess.

When all was said and done we left the house dead tired with numb arms, blistered hands, and aching backs. We bagged close to 30 bags, 45 gallons each, and dumped another 14 blanket loads of leaves -figure 2 bags per dump - into the Chesapeake. We have both developed an intense hatred of yard work. Autumn used to be our favorite season and we looked forward to the falling leaves... now... I foresee many nights' sleep interrupted by screaming fits, and night panics. "Get them off me! Get them off me! Leaves! Leaves! I'm drowning in an endless sea of leaves!"