Jeremy L. Berg

NOTE: Please don’t the following too seriously.  I’m just thinking (or joking) out loud again.

They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.  Yeah, well, if that’s what it means to be insane, then what do we call folks who do certain things religiously and repeatedly without ever asking ‘Why?’

I have an honest question and I have no hidden motives.  I honestly want to know why people spend hours each fall raking, bagging, mulching and hauling away leaves?  I also want to know why people spend hours in the cold shoveling, plowing, and scraping the snow from their driveways every time the snow falls?

You’re probably thinking the reasons are as obvious as the noon day sun, but hear me out for a second.  This is probably only a question that gets asked by over-analyzing intellectual types who like to rationally think through everything we do.  Plus, as a Christian and pastor guy, I’m  wary of participating in any rituals without knowing the significance or reason for doing them.  To do so such in religion is called “legalism.”  I tend to apply this test to all areas of my life.  I guess I’m a bit strange. 

But I have some honest questions.  And please don’t accuse me of laziness.  That might be a factor but my primary reason for asking is that I try to be as intentional and rational with the tasks I spend my time doing and try to avoid doing things “just because.”  

First, those leaves:

1. What happens if we just let the leaves be some fall and winter?  What happens in the spring?  Are they still there?  Are there less of them since they rot away?  Have you ever tried this?  If not, why?

2. Why do some people do the leaves repeatedly every weekend over the weeks of fall?  Doesn’t it make sense waiting until they are all off the trees and just doing them once?  “There would be too many and it would take longer,” they say.  Really?  Have you ever tested your theory?

3. Does leaving them on the grass over the winter damage the grass in spring?  I have heard this but don’t know if it’s true.

4. How many of you, if you were completely honest, do leaves just because it’s what you have always done?  It’s what your grandpa did and your dad and all your neighbors and so on.  Is it a sneaky marketing scheme to get us to spend money on bags, rakes, tarps and thousand dollar lawn tractors?  

5. Or, like me, how many of you just do leaves because it’s nice to get your butt off the couch, breathe in the fresh, autumn air and get some exercise?  Be honest.

6. While we’re at it, what’s your preferred method of leaf disposal?  Are you a mulcher, raker, bagger, tarper or, like my neighbors, do you just rake them all onto the street and let them blow into your neighbor’s lawn?  I typically do everything I can to avoid picking up a rake and prefer mulching them until they are only miniature leaf-crumbs.  But my mower keeps breaking and so I’m raking this year.

Now, how about that snow?

1. I think there are better reasons for shoveling than raking.  We shovel to clear our walking path and make sure our vehicles can get out.  We don’t want our friends and family slipping on the ice and cracking their skulls. I get that. Plus, nobody wants an angry UPS driver over the Holidays!

2. Still, this does not explain those who shovel every time we get a dusting.  You know who you are!  I have seen a 1/10 of an inch of snow and someone religiously running his shovel across a massive driveway.  I have no idea why. Can you please tell me why?

3. I have an unpaved, gravel driveway.  I purposely avoid shoveling because I like a good thick layer of packed snow covering an otherwise slushy, muddy driveway.  I use the car-packing method.  Yes, I just drive my car back and forth until it’s good and packed.  And it’s a lot easier than shoveling!

4. The only time I shovel is after large snowfalls and then just enough to clear a path from each of our car doors (we have no garage!) and get the car out of the driveway.

5. I have been told that not shoveling and letting ice accumulate on the pavement does damage to the driveway. Is this true?  I doubt it.  With our extreme temperatures Minnesota driveways are going to take a beating whether or not we keep them shoveled.

6. Again, I suspect many people shovel not because of necessity but rather because “it’s just what you do.”  Well, have fun out in the cold.  I’ll be the guy sipping hot cocoa inside my house by the fireplace.  I personally have better things to do with my time.

So, honestly, I would love to know:

Do you spend a lot of time doing leaves in the fall?  What is your main reason?  How about shoveling the snow?  What is your main reason for shoveling snow?  Any fun stories?