Amie and The Leaf Blower

There is one item in my garage I covet among all others. It is my most favorite thing ever. I love it. Rich is ambivalent about it and thinks me owning it completely ridiculous.

It's my plug in, super-ultra-delux, Toro leaf blower.

I had wanted a leaf blower for a very long time but it was never made a priority to purchase it because *whisper*
Rich had never wanted one.
Once we moved to our cul-de-sac though, our neighbors on either side of us had FANTASTIC leaf blowers.  Leaf blowers that made other leaf blowers refuse to start because they knew they couldn't keep up their end of leaf-blowing-ness next to these awesome machines.

So, one fall day, I looked at Rich and said, "My day has come.  I'm buying a leaf blower. With or without you. At Fleet Farm.  A good one."

Rich's response to my declaration: "You've finally lost your mind."

But, wisely he didn't argue as we packed the kids in the van.

At Fleet Farm, Rich didn't share my thrill or rapture of the wonderfully red Toro leaf blower. He came to dead stop in the middle of the aisle, kids hanging from the cart, and asked me, "What do you think you are doing putting an $XX.XX leaf blower in this cart?"  After some "discussion," he proceeded to assure himself that I had indeed lost my mind, and explain to our kids in great detail what it meant to keep up with the Jones, or at least Don and Wayne (our neighbors).

The kids thought it was great that Rich was shell-shocked by the leaf blower AND that they had learned this concept of their Mom keeping up with the Jones, which was quite ridiculous to them....especially because we knew a family with the last name of Jones.  They became quite outrageous with their examples of how we could and should try to keep up with the Jones and our neighbors.

When I came home and started up the motor of leaf blower, it was like the sound of angels singing.  I was in love, love, love when pine needles and leaves were efficiently blown into a neat little pile for collection.

When my neighbor Wayne waved, smiled, and yelled, "Nice leaf blower!"  I gave him a happy leaf blower club smile and merrily waved back.