Lack of Motivation

We bought a little riding mower.
It no longer functions.
We didn’t know, when we moved,
That gas deteriorates.
Probably one fall, we left the tank filled.
By spring, the mower no longer worked.

We bought a tractor with a mower.
The mower blades broke the first time out.
Phil repaired them once.
Maybe twice.
But our land remains not quite smooth enough;
The mower gets used sometimes, but not too often.

We bought a trimmer.
Phil wanted to clean up the back before a party
And a pebble broke our back door.
Sometime later, the trigger broke.

We bought a lawn mower.
That seemed like a safe possibility,
To keep clear the areas around the house.
After Phil spent the afternoon outside mowing,
He felt sick when he saw the back of the van:
The rearview window had shattered.

Caleb and I were outside when it probably happened,
And the car would have blocked us from a flying stone shard.
So this story is not entirely without thanksgiving for life,
But I can understand a certain lack of motivation
For Phil, if every time he steps outside,
He creates a need for repair.