“Excuse me, you’re going to what?” I said, slightly stunned with tears welling up in my eyes.

“I’M. GOING. TO. MOW. THE. LAWN. THEN LEAVE THE GRASS CLIPPINGS ON THE LAWN.” He said it very slowly in an elevated pitch, as if my ears weren’t grabbing at the words that were coming out of his mouth.

I swallow hard. My mind is racing. Don’t yell. Don’t yell. You’ll only alienate him. Be calm. Speak slowly and meaningful. Explain to him that he can’t.

“We worked so hard on the yard yesterday. 2 and 1/2 hours pulling weeds, moving boulders, raking leaves. Omg. My BACK IS STILL FREAKING KILLING ME *calm down, calm down*. All for you! For your birthday! Because we love you. AND YOU DIDN’T WANT ANY PRESENTS! SO I MADE THE GIRLS HELP ME DO THIS. And they didn’t even complain, because they knew it was a great present for you. And now you want to ruin it? I don’t understand why!!!” I plead desperately.

“Calm down, calm down. It’ll all be alright. I gotta do this. To fertilize the yard. So it’ll grow better. It’ll be fine. Don’t worry.” His smile is ridiculous. It lifts slightly on one side allowing his ever slightly crooked teeth show. Oddly, all of this, gives him a perfect smile. His eyes are soft, imploring me to trust him.

But I don’t. I’ve been down this road before and it is very dangerous route to follow. He puts me in a trance, and then makes me drink the Kool-Aid, and before I know it, i’m rueing the day I ever believed him.

“Please listen. The problem is, all the grass that you mulched is going to sit on the lawn for approximately 20 minutes while it’s fresh and still a little moist. BUT THEN, its going to start to dry and fly away. Away onto the sidewalk, the driveway and into all the crevices and empty spaces that we cleared when we weeded and moved all the lawn rocks. YOU WON’T EVEN BE ABLE TO TELL THAT WE WORKED SO HARD. And did I tell you, my back still hurts from all that hard work? The Courtneys yard always looks great! AND THEY DON’T DO THIS GRASS CLIPPING NONSENSE THAT YOU DO!” Tears are dropping now, and I’m desperately out of breadth.

He leans over to give me a kiss. I look at him sideways. “Ok. But this just might be your last kiss ever.”

He straightens out his smile, and lifts an eyebrow. “Don’t worry. Go to Allysun’s now. I’ll get Bella from practice. It’s going to be fine.”

• – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – — – – – – – – – – – – – –

I was so pissed.

So pissed that I did leave. It was 10:30 am, and I left until 11:30 pm. 

And when I got home, he had done as I asked (in the front yard anyway). The backyard was a mulched up mess.

I say all of this to say, SOMETIMES WHEN LIFE GETS ROUGH YOU JUST GOTTA LEAVE. And everything will turn out alright.

And if you can’t leave, leave. You can always find an escape.

CUE THE BLENDER ICE CREAM!

And this sweet creamy treat can be your escape everyday. You probably have everything in your fridge right now to make this divine little holiday rendezvous.

It falls somewhere between a decadent ice cream and a tangy smoothie bowl, with the consistency of a frozen yogurt. 

Try it, I think you’ll enjoy the time away from your worries.

Ingredients:

• • ½ cup Heavy Cream
• • 1/3 cup Splenda
• • 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
• • 3 Oz Cream Cheese
• • 8 strawberries, fresh
• • 2 cups frozen strawberries
• • 1 cup ice

1. Place ingredients in blender, in order listed.

2. Blend until smooth and creamy! Serve in cups or bowls with spoons.

Want more?

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