Dirty

A huge truck delivered the dirt to my house: 15 cubic yards of it. Yes, if you stop and picture what 15 cubic yards looks like, it’s a pretty huge dirt pile. I had all kinds of projects in mind, especially filling in low spots on the lawn that often make it too wet to mow, but mostly, I just love playing in dirt.

I think it’s my parents’ fault. When I was a little kid, my father had a whole truckload of sand delivered to our backyard. That sandpile kept us kids occupied for years and years. Many of my earliest memories involve playing trucks in the sand with my brother. We made roads and caves, and we spent hours pushing around yellow metal trucks.

This dirt pile has kept me busy for several days. Of course, one landscaping project leads to another. I’ve been filling in the potholes in our gravel driveway – mostly by piling in dirt and stone and then jumping up and down on it to tap the material in tight. Then I decided to build a flagstone path from the driveway to the house. And naturally, I need to plant another tree or two. I’ve spent hours out in the dirt pile, coming up with new ideas for the front yard while I shovel dirt into the wheelbarrow again and again and again.

After my daily visit to my mother-in-law in the nursing home, watching her struggle to even move her arms or speak, it feels to be outside and use my own muscles, moving 15 cubic yards of dirt one shovelful at a time.