So as you may have already read, we moved from our apartment into a modest house. This was necessary for a number of reasons, not the least of which were our toddler growing up and needing more space, and the fact that I’m working 90%+ from home and needed an office. A couple of side benefits for me were getting a nice small(ish) lawn in the back yard, and a garage.

Lets talk about the lawn first. At our apartment, we had a small patch of dirt that was maybe 5’ x 8’ that we did clean up and laid sod. For a few weeks it was GREAT and looked fantastic. I’d water it regularly and mow it every week, it was great and I had a huge sense of pride and accomplishment in it. However, due to the way the sun shined (or didn’t as the case may be) the grass didn’t last long and I was immensely mournful when it met with it’s eventual demise.

With the new place, I get another chance to have a healthy lawn! It’s significantly larger, but not huge this time. I am again mowing it weekly, and watering it regularly, and I have a strange almost indescribable sense of pride and glee everytime I work on it or look out the window at it. What is it about a healthy, green, and well manicured lawn that resonates so deeply with the male psyche? I can’t explain it, I just know that it makes me smile and makes me want to GRUNT in satisfaction. UHHH UHH OHHAAHH!!

I also scored a two car garage in the move. Now, I know this is fairly mundane for most but allow me to explain. Growing up we lived in like three different places that had garages, however we never had space to work or park cars in the garage! As I type this, both my 67 Caddy and our family minivan are safely parked in the garage along with my tools and some items which we’re storing, and it’s clean and organized! On top of that, I have room to work which is a total luxury for me. I have done some pretty significant mechanics work in a carport with space for one car at our old apartment. This included completely dismantling the explorer down to just the sheet metal, frame, and suspension. In the short month that we’ve lived in this house I’ve had the opportunity to help my sister change her oil, and I’ve started to dig into the project of getting the Caddy’s cooling system up to snuff. The difference between working outdoors, or in a cramped carport vs. working in a garage is indescribable!

So a lawn, and a garage… Two things which I’ve gained from moving in here which seem to appeal to the very core of my being as a man. I don’t claim to understand it, but I can tell you that it’s extraordinarily gratifying and just seems to be part of the male DNA.