I don't know how many people have ever done this, but for those that haven't - if a friend ever asks "Hey, can you help me take out a stump in the yard?" - tell them politely to,
Fuck off.
We had a maple tree taken out, but they left the stump. And while I was building the edges of the garden bed that would have the stump sitting in the middle of. I made a judgement call that I would remove the stump by hand. After all,
How hard can it be?
Seven hours later.
And not an easy seven hours seven hours straight, with no breaks. I did 16,000 steps and 15,000 of those were probably in a circle no more than a couple meters in diameter. But, I got that fucker out of the ground in one shift, because as my wife would attest to,
I'm a stubborn prick.
Shovels, saws, axes, crowbars, pry bars, claws.... I used them all and more. And while it was incredibly hard work, it was also enjoyable. When I first looked at the stump that has been sitting there for over a year and decided I was going to take it out, I though - this will count as my workout. And then an hour or tow in, as my muscles ached, I decided that it was going to also serve as a lesson in resilience, tenacity, and commitment. And after five hours, it become an exercise in stubbornness.
My wife said "leave it for tomorrow".
But I knew...
If I stop, starting again would be too hard, so it was going to come out tonight, or I would bury it again. And when it started to move slightly, I got a second wind and pushed on further. However, it took another hour before I was able to dig enough underneath that gnarly, ant-infested bastard to cut the final roots that would allow me to pry it out of its position.
I am sore.
It was a good workout.
And weirdly, there is some kind of satisfaction with doing the work, even though it is about as "grunty" as work gets. My hands are numb, my shoulders are burning, but the process was completely mindless, just one thing after another - dig and scrape, cut and pound - simple.
Honest work.*
I have been doing a fair bit of this lately and have quite enjoyed the manual labour of it. I have been doing so much work without an immediate or even known result for so long, that doing something like this where the goal is clear and the progress is visible, feels good. Sure, I am tired and my body will punish me tomorrow, but still, it was worth it.
I was writing just yesterday about how younger generations aren't willing to put in the sweat equity and how valuable it is to do things for ourselves at times, and this was a highlight of the fact. Yeah, I saved a few hundred euros for someone to come and grind it down, but more importantly than that, I owned it. It was my choice, my responsibility, my work, and my result. And while the hole in the ground will be gone, the flowers that cover it will be a reminder of the work I have done - forever.
I appreciate that.
Now though, I am going to get some sleep and and try to prepare myself for how my body will ache tomorrow. And tomorrow, we are off to the nursery to find plants for the bed I am still yet to complete and plant them.
I am getting into this gardening thing.
I understand the root of the appeal.
Taraz
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