You put the lawnmower WHERE?

Ah the first week of summer vacation and the kids are already bored. Short of renting a daily magician, arts and crafts leader and swimming instructor, not sure what they were expecting. Today is just another Wednesday for me. At work. As per usual.

Got a call from Max a few minutes ago that, oddly, went right to voicemail. (these kids are so tech savvy). The voicemail went a little something like this:

"Mom, we have a problem. I was mowing the hill by the tree fort when I remembered that the brakes weren't working on the mower and the mower ended up in the swamp. I tried everything but can't get it out and now it's stuck and all covered in mud. Call me."

Not even sure where to start with the list of rules that were broken in this most recent incident. Rule number 1: No power tool use while I am not there to supervise (he claims that he didn't remember that one). Rule number 2: Don't mow that hill because it's too steep for the lawnmower. Rule number 3: The brakes don't work on the damn mower!!

So now, when I get home from work, I will have to come up with some sort of plan to extract said mower from the swamp. It will be mucky and stinky and he may have broken it completely. Add it to the damn list. It terrifies me sometimes to think of what is going through his mind in the midst of these "incidents".  For instance, is there an "Oh sh*t" moment or does that only occur after the fact? I really am curious.

When you're headed down a steep hill towards a swamp and the lawnmower you're riding has no brakes, what are you actually thinking will be the outcome?

Reminds me of one of my favorite sayings:

"When the lights are flashing and the gates are down and the siren's screaming out in the rain. And you're standing on the tracks and you're looking at the facts, you can't blame the wreck on the train."