kylegilbert

The world around us is enslaved in the daily grind – blind to their bondage and full of apathy. But some people, against all odds, throw off the yoke of oppression.

And so it begins with this young man.

This morning, my wife went in for her routine doctor’s appointment. The twins were at 35.5 weeks, just past the huge milestone of 35 weeks. When the doctor examined Keri, she found that she was already beginning to dilate, and Dr. Evitt was concerned that Keri’s water might break if we chanced waiting any longer before doing a C-section.

This fear was validated when she checked Keri again a few minutes later. She had already dilated several more centimeters and had moved into active labor. Today would be the delivery day for our identical twin boys.

About an hour later, after a quick setup, Keri and I were in the surgery room, and the doctor performed a C-section. Although both babies were entangled with the umbilical cords around their necks, they were both fine at birth other than lung issues because of their early delivery. They were born at 3:02 & 3:04 pm. The first baby weighed 5 lbs, 9 oz, and the second baby weighed 5 lbs, 7 oz.

From there, they took both babies back to the nursery to watch them. For a several hours it was totally up in the air as to whether or not they would need to be transferred to a hospital for care, but they gradually improved, and at 8:30 pm, they were brought back to our room for the first time.

As I write this, Keri and the twins are resting, and everyone is doing great.

Thank you for your prayers!

PS – Hopefully by this time tomorrow we will be completely settled on their names.

The other day, in the middle of mowing my front yard, my lawn mower of nearly a decade decided to give up the ghost. It was a sad thing to behold, and it left me using the weed eater to “fade” the hard edges so that the divide between newly mowed and uncut would be less apparent until I found a suitable replacement.

That evening, as I was talking to my brother-in-law, Taylor, who is a landscape/hardscape professional, he suggested that I might consider purchasing a reel mower – you know, the old-school kind that doesn’t have a motor. He said that it would save me from having to buy gasoline and that it was also a great way to get a little exercise. The idea was intriguing to me, and by the end of the night, I was determined to give a reel mower a try.

WEEK ONE: THE SHAME

A couple of days later I made the purchase, brought home the small box, and quickly assembled the pieces in front of my garage. Never again would I need to buy gasoline before mowing the grass.  To be quite honest, I felt a little bit of pride for purchasing such an earth-friendly alternative to the normal powered lawn mower. Perhaps I would start a new trend in our neighborhood.

That pride only lasted a couple of minutes.

What happened next was a swirl of emotions, mostly shame. Handlebars positioned about two feet too low, pushing a strange small object. The feeling was similar to pushing along a child-sized vacuum cleaner through the grass. Humbling stuff.

And it didn’t help that neighbors were taking notice of me. Cars were slowing down to look as they passed by, and my next door neighbors came out to mention how “cool and eco-friendly” the mower was.

By this point I was seriously annoyed with myself about the purchase.  It didn’t seem that it was working very well, and I needed to mow every inch of the grass multiple times. Why else had I never seen anybody use a reel mower before? It wasn’t just that the idea never came to mind, but like the typewriter, it was an antiquated and obsolete device.

And as for exercise, I’d have to say that I was disappointed. The effort was roughly equivalent to a slow walk around the neighborhood.

Thinking back to my purchasing experience, the placement of the mower box in the store should have tipped me off. It was located on a shelf about eight feet off the ground and had a layer of dust on top of the box. Now, I would have to relive my poor decision each week as I awkwardly trudged back and forth across my lawn.

WEEK TWO: ADJUSTING

Once I gave up the idea of returning the mower to the store or pitching it in the dumpster, the second week of mowing was a drastically improved experience. Before I started, I lowered the blades, and that seemed to help with the problem of having to mow the same spot multiple times. That change also helped me to see why people would describe the process as a workout.  But my favorite part was the quiet sound of the mower blades instead of an engine, so listening to music while mowing was especially enjoyable. And overall, I think the mower produced a nicely-even lawn.

FINAL THOUGHTS (FOR NOW)

You could end up with the best looking lawn on the block, but purchasing a reel mower is probably best reserved for people who don’t mind feeling (and looking) a little foolish. Be forewarned.

Oh, and wear long pants, not shorts, when mowing or else your shoes will be full of clippings. Trust me.