After a long, hard Friday night out, the last thing one wants to be doing at 8 o’ clock the next Saturday morning is waking up to the shrill, piercing call of the tiny yet annoying little digital clock that lies on the bedside table. But in the last two summers, it’s become just another way of life for me. It’s not that I enjoy mowing lawns; it’s that I enjoy listening to music, and I enjoy the cool feel of the air that comes on an early summer’s morning.

            As I roll out of bed I throw on the clothes I’d worn on the previous night, since there’s no use in dirtying a whole new outfit. The noise-cancelling headphones I wear only work in both ears half of the time, but since they’re the only headphones I own that can drown out the sound of a John Deere, I’ll wear them anyway. My iPod is already set with a playlist of my favorite albums ready to play. I strap on an old pair of sneakers, walk out the door, and begin my stroll down the street, stopping at the houses I was scheduled to mow. As I walk, I keep the headphones down around my neck, but the music I leave on. Lately I’ve been turning on “A Momentary Lapse of Reason” by Pink Floyd, or “The Meanest Times” by DKM, or maybe just a shuffle of some Tenacious D hits, depending on my mood.

            The first lawn, the Leavitt’s, is by far my favorite, since it’s the smallest, and the closest, and because the Leavitt’s lawnmower is the most efficient and easy to use. I don’t even hesitate as I turn into their yard, since whether they’re home or not, I know that the shed is going to be unlocked. My most frequent welcome, though, normally comes from their Old English sheepdog, Maggie. She’s big, even though she’s only two years old, and loves to jump on anything that moves. Sometimes, when I’m taking a break, I might sit down on the grass and let her try to wrestle me down, a feat that by now she can usually accomplish.

            When I finally fill up the tank in the mower and get it started, I fit the headphones onto my ears (it always takes a minute for my ears to adjust to the noise) and head off. I’ve done their lawn so many times that I no longer even have to concentrate to know where I’m going. The design is a second nature for me. I just hold down the self-propel on the light, green Deere, and let my mind wander. I let the music free me, and the cool dewy feel of the morning calm my tired body. For two hours I go on like this, mouthing the lyrics to the songs, looking like a freak to those who drive by on their way to the farm that lies across the way. I don’t really care, though. And that’s the beauty of my job. Unlike all the other jobs I work, where I have a supervisor keeping me stressed out and uptight, here I am truly free. I never stray, and yet I am never really there. I can daydream all I want, and truly appreciate the fact that I’m outside, I’m alive, and I am real. And when I’m done, the pain of the short night and early morning will be gone, and it will be as if I’ve been sleeping for my entire life. I’ll be fine.