LOOKING BACK AND LOOKING FORWARD!

Looking back or looking forward??!!  this is Audrey

I have found that aging is a delicate process.  One can look at the hands and say "oh my, they are getting to look old".  Or you can look at the hands and say, "Oh my, I am so glad that these hands have been able to do so many wonderful things even if they do look a bit wrinkled!"  A person can scrap the old lawn mower and bemoan the fact that it is so old or you can be thankful for all the years of service it has given you.  In tennis a person can hate the fact that the legs are a bit slower this year or you can be thankful for age giving you more wisdom in how to read your opponent and place your shots.  In the morning you can brush your teeth, wash you face and then see all the aging signs and be sad or you can do the same routine and be thankful for all the wonderful things that face has experienced!
One can guess that I have been aging!!!  Last year I put the old garden tiller in the front yard for free and it was gone in an hour.  I was tired of nursing it and nursing it each summer through engine problems, grease problems and just plain running problems!  It had faithfully turned my garden and spots in the lawn since 1971--enough.  Last week I gave the same fate to my Honda lawn mower.  It had been a wonderful friend for long enough.  It seemed to get tired after doing about 3/4 of the lawn and then on the last 1/4 it begged and pleaded to rest before finishing-enough.  My new one started on the first pull out of the box and yesterday mowed the entire lawn and seemed to enjoy the whole thing!  Well now for yesterday.  It was time to edge the front yard.  The gas powered edger, the one with a right wheel that had a huge bit out of it, the one that served us so well in the years when the boys did their own lawn service, the one that lost its blade guard many moons ago and yes the one that had relied on a well placed vise grip to keep the blade straight and true--that was the one that died with a bit of work left on the driveway.  I thought I could get the blade a bit more straight but as I pushed on the level it snapped off.  Well that could be fixed with a second vise grip I thought but with TWO vise grips tightly working together the blade would not touch the ground which for an edger is not ideal-enough.  As I write this morning in the wood shop there is a pile of bolts, a place for two worn out wheels and many other parts scared on the floor in front of the table saw.  As so many people would say about beloved things-RIP.
So I sit here this morning thinking about the tiller, the mower, the edger and about way too too many things to mention and all I can say is God is good, I am thankful for what I have, what I have seen and what I have been able to do.Things come and go but memories stay forever.  Yesterday a neighbor came over with a large air compressor. He wanted input about it.  I knew he wanted to fix it up and wanted me to encourage him.  I just said it is a matter of time/money/interests.  For me in that situation I have too many places to go, things to do, people to see and experiences to experience so I would not bother.  I would get a new one, a smaller one and go do the work you would like it to help you with.
The rain stopped yesterday AM and the weather has been perfect.  Why would one not want to be in MN all the time???? 
FP is gone and I am out to the wood shop.