Ahhhhh I love my kids but.............

[tercel89]

I had a crappy week at work and was looking forward to taking it easy today. I enjoy mowing my yard and its very relaxing. Well yesterday I come home to find out this ,, Well first let me say that my 17 year old son is a very book smart son and gets A's and B's which I am very proud of him ! He is in several school and academic clubs which can only be done if you have great grades , again i am very proud of him. But here's where things get FRUSTATING ! ........

 I come home from work and find out that he wanted to surprise me and mow the yard. He has no idea about operating certain things and what fuel goes where and so on .

 He puts a gallon of my TWO-STROKE fuel into my riding mower . He then mows half my yard on the LOWEST setting possible which skins half of my yard to the dirt !!!! Well he hit several tree roots and it knocked my mower's deck all out of alignment. Then my little girl got out some of my old pieces of steel rebar to use a "sword" to play like she is sword fighting. She leaves it in the grass. My son then runs over it with the mower and it gets all wrapped around the two blades of my mower and destroys he blades and cause more damage to the deck.

But I can't get mad at him because the day before this "mowing disaster"  he was at home with my little girl. He noticed some guy walking from the street into our yard. He watches the guy go into the side of our yard and squat down looking very nervous. The guy then goes and jumps up on the porch and bangs on the door. Then the guy bangs so hard that the door is about to bow inward. The guy stays there banging hard and looking in both directions really fast . My son made the appropriate phone calls and gets my pistol and prepares for the worst. Luckily the guy never gets in the house and is scared off. My son did great , protected his little sister and all is great.

  So I cant get mad at the big guy :up:  Just doing a little venting for being frustarted that I have to rebuild my mower deck and drain my fuel tank but my son is still awesome and at least he knows what to do when the crap hits the fan.

Edited May 23, 2015 by tercel89

[rugerla1]

I agree although frustrating, fixing a torn up mower is worth knowing he has the correct mindset when things go south! Glad the BG didn't make it in, and glad nobody was hurt in the mower incident. Reba could have been a bad deal. Hope your weekend gets better!

[btq96r]

I think anybody would be proud to have a son like yours.  Book smarts to set him up in life, and protection instincts for his family in a real world situation.  The whole mowing thing is very correctable for a kid that smart.

[tercel89]

Yeah , now that I am thinking about the mower part , it is pretty funny :pleased: , half of my yard looks like a desert with the scalped grass :rofl: plus with the two stroke oil in the fuel tank , I could start it up and run it and let it smoke the neighborhood for mosquitos LOL. I usually put more oil in my two stroke fuel than what it calls for just for more protection.

Edited May 23, 2015 by tercel89

[Jonnin]

it should be OK to fill the tank with gas, dilute the oil, and just burn it out...  unless its a very sophisticated engine in there (?).   

 

Common sense is sort of something you are born with but it CAN be taught.   Just go over all the stuff calmly with him, explaining the WHY and HOW behind it all and tie that in with a "try to be observant"  ... at the least he should have seen the scalped effect and known that was not right.

Edited May 23, 2015 by Jonnin

[Monkeyman2500]

Ha! Sounds like you got an awesome kid. You got to just sit back and laugh at the mower part.

[teecro]

Yeah , now that I am thinking about the mower part , it is pretty funny :pleased: , half of my yard looks like a desert with the scalped grass :rofl: plus with the two stroke oil in the fuel tank , I could start it up and run it and let it smoke the neighborhood for mosquitos LOL. I usually put more oil in my two stroke fuel than what it calls for just for more protection.

 

Ha my old 76 Chevy ran a lot of miles over the years on 2-smoke gas; always kept a 2.5 gallon can of the stuff under the tool box for my dirt bikes.... Gas gauge never worked and I'd forget to write down the milage on fill ups....

[Mike.357]

did you ever take the time to teach him how to properly operate the tractor?  Standing rule here is no matter what, don't touch stuff in the garage without my permission and supervision.

 

And I know what you mean about mowing, small pleasures.

 

I wonder what scared the tweaker off?  Sounds like the boy did fine in regards to that.

[bud]

. Edited August 7, 2015 by bud

[tercel89]

Ha! Sounds like you got an awesome kid. You got to just sit back and laugh at the mower part.

 

 Oh yeah LOL. It is funny looking at the scalped yard :rofl: . I wonder what the neighbors are thinking. He got so much grass blowing out of the mower that we can bail it for hay it seems like :rofl:

[tercel89]

I haven't ever taught him on the mower because we have so many roots here and there that are above the ground . I was too afraid that he would tear up the mower back when he was younger so I have always mowed the yard. But he does know how to use , shoot , and strip down my Glock 17 . So that is good enough for me :up:

Edited May 23, 2015 by tercel89

[bud]

. Edited August 7, 2015 by bud

[bersaguy]

Just look at it this way, your still doing lawn work. Your working on the Lawn Mower. You definitely have a son to be proud of for sure..... :up:  :up: 

[RED333]

All I can do is shake my head, I to have a son that in his younger years did about the same thing.

O well, live and learn, sounds like you have done a good job so far Dad.

[MacGyver]

Any 17 year old who, of his own initiative decides to cut the grass should be applauded. Sounds like a good time to teach him about how to do it right.

[Mike.357]

also a good time to teach him how to change out the blades.

 

All of us could probably use to teach our kids more.

[tercel89]

Didn't mean to be a prick about that. I'm about 10 years late teaching my kid about money

 

 Oh i didn't take it that way , no problem .

[BigK]

sorry to hear about your mower, but glad to hear about your son's initiative with the yard and his sense of self-reliance and protective spirit

 

mine was skinny as a rail growing up, so I got him a reel mower to learn to mow with...sounds mean, but it cut well and he grew up big and strong

[crossfire]

Sounds like he has the right attitude, and just  needs to have you teach him some more knowhow.

 

Anyone who enjoys mowing and likes to relax on the mower, please come on over, you're more then welcome to cut mine. I need more time to go to the range. :pleased:

[peejman]

also a good time to teach him how to change out the blades.

All of us could probably use to teach our kids more.

Agreed. Make fixing it a fun project. Paint flames on it or something.

[TNWNGR]

Oh well. What's life without a little disaster every once in a while? Observationally I'm thinking your son just learned in practical school of hard knocks what not to do when cutting the lawn. Of course the lesson's on your dime but no ones hurt so its a win. 

If you haven't done so have your son help you drain the gas tank and pull the mower blades. Put the tools in his hands and talk him through it, he'll be fine. Replace the blades, level the deck and gas the mower up. Then let him have the pleasure of reseeding and spreading hay on the scalped patches.

The next time the yard needs mowing set the deck at its highest, walk the yard with him and put him on the mower. Tell him how you want the yard cut, explain he's to leave the deck and throttle alone and send him on his way. Don't interfere or stop him unless it's a safety issue. Yep, you just raised a new grass cutter.  

[Grand Torino]

Been there......

[Pete123]

Sounds like a great young man. It doesn't sound to me like a lack of common sense, but a lack of experience. At his age I could have easily done that. Today I wouldn't. I've lived long enough to make mistakes and know to watch for the things that tripped him.

A 17 year old who cut the grass without being asked - Whoa!

[bersaguy]

Agreed. Make fixing it a fun project. Paint flames on it or something.

Like TNWNGR mentioned above. You might even ask your son to help and make it a father/son venture while fixing it.............. :up:

Edited May 24, 2015 by bersaguy

[Erik88]

also a good time to teach him how to change out the blades.

All of us could probably use to teach our kids more.

This.. I love my dad but the only thing he taught me was how to drive. It's been a challenge trying to learn everything else.