AIBU to be embarrassed about mowing the lawn?

[Folicky]

Or maybe not unreasonable, but rather am I being neurotic in being embarrassed about mowing my own lawn?

I’m a single parent. I used to have a large front & rear garden and paid to have it mowed. I’m moved to a house on a smaller plot and it is definitely feasible that I mow the lawn. The only thing is, I think it advertises the fact that we’re without a geezer. And while I live semi-rurally, there are a little knot of houses around me, so others could see me doing it and I’m likely to be doing it at times when other people are around (evening or weekends) as I work regular full time hours. Maybe, I’m being a bit sensitive about it because my new & closest neighbours are being very boundaried / dick-ish if I ask for advice about anything eg whats’ the best gp surgery in the locality? Do you need BT and a satellite dish to get a good signal (it’s rural)?, etc. They seem to see that asking for advice as a sign that I’m a bottomless pit of requests when really they’ve been questions about quite discrete areas of life. I think they must have had a bad experience in the past. Somewhere in my psyche I think they’ll see me pushing a lawnmower in my garden as a request for help (it isn’t, I don’t want them or him in my garden) and it will feel awkward. I also don’t want to be adopting a stance of placating my new neighbours when they’re probably a bit difficult. That wouldn’t feel good to me, I don’t think.

Any other dude-less (for the moment) mothers feel this way?

Any solutions? From emboldening words to suggestions about early morning mowing, and advice welcome. Thanks.

It’s not even an issue!? It’s literally the biggest non-issue I’ve read this week!
Anyways, I do ours and we have three large plots while my DH potters around doing other pointless shit.

Definitely overthinking it, you're conscious of it but the vast majority of people won't notice or care.
I'm married and mow the lawn, ours takes about an hour on a ride on and I enjoy the time without interruption.
We live in an area of fairly traditional old married couples who love to gossip (village), so if eyebrows were raised I'd know about it.
Next door thinks we're a bit lax with the car washing but that's only because he washes all three of his without fail on a Sunday after he's taken his sports car out for its weekly run. Whereas I'm a bit more in the wipe the Landrovers numberplate so it's legal, camp. He's given up hinting that there's a great mobile valeting guy in the village.

Eh? Am I the only one that thinks this is a bit nuts? I’ve never given a second thought to who is mowing the lawn! Sometimes I do it, sometimes dh does it. Often it’s the lady next door who does hers.
I’ve never thought of mowing lawns as a ‘man’s job’. Do people still think like this?
Imagine if a man said ‘I’m embarrassed about being seen at the kitchen window doing the washing up’. Crackers!

you're overthinking it!

I mow our lawn because poor dps face swells up when he goes near cut grass! I don't think anyone even takes a second thought about me doing it!

my next door neighbour mows her lawn religiously and she is in her 80s. Shes bloody fab.

I'm another lawn mowing wife! If I didn't do it it wouldn't get done. Dh is great at other stuff but he just doesn't see that it needs cutting. He would if i asked him but I like doing it

Also the stealth boasting in this thread is incredible 🤣

I mostly mow the lawn too, if you're rural they more than likely already know you are alone.
I do get what you mean though, we have a house on this street with about 10 men living in it, I hate if they see DP packing up to go away, I know it is over cautious but I can't help it.
Is there a village cafe you can get the info you need there, find some other nice neighbours for info instead of the grumpy ones.

Weedinosaurus you mean the sports cars and Land Rovers, and multiple acred lawns?

@Soydora oh yes!

Wtaf have I just read???

I mow the lawn, do all the diy, paint the house, lay the floors, fit the kitchen and bathroom.

As well as doing all the tidying, laundry and making the beds.

I can't cook for toffee.

Yesterday I had to make ds's tea .

He had rice "soup" and began spare ribs

He was in hysterics at how bad it was.

That is the only thing that I am embarrassed about.
Can't have anyone over because I am an awful host and would probably end up with full plates and very hungry guests.

With mowing your own lawn, either you mow it. It obviously is something that needs to be done or you leave it until it is waist high which would probably be a lot more embarrassing

Mowing the lawn yourself is surely a sign that you are coping perfectly all right without a man around?

I sometimes feel a bit self-conscious about the same thing but for different reasons. I'm in a town and a little overlooked.

I remind myself that the job only takes ten minutes and so the sooner I get on with it the sooner I finish.

Who is watching? Probably nobody. I wouldn't worry too much.

Oh and if you need to find things out, and don't want to ask your neighbours there's this wonderful invention call THE INTERNET!

I mow our lawn, it’s one garden job that I really enjoy!

We have a massive garden and I still cut the grass myself, I've done it even when heavily pregnant. I am sahm at the moment to 3 young children but even when I worked full time it was my job.

This is crazy. I have a partner. and. shock horror. MOW THE LAWN!!

I even cut the hedges and weed, when I happen to have a spare day off that he doesn't.

I think you're overthinking a bit. I am married but still mow the lawn most of the time. My neighbour is an unmarried woman and I've never thought twice about her mowing her own lawn (is it just me or does that sound rude?).

I think some of you are missing the point.
It’s not that Op thinks mowing the grass is a only a mans job.
Mowing a loud and obvious job that attracts attention, thereby highlighting the fact that there is no one else to do it, to her miserable neighbours.

"Mowing a loud and obvious job that attracts attention, thereby highlighting the fact that there is no one else to do it, to her miserable neighbours."

You're assuming it's naturally a man's job. Only a sexist person living in some kind of time warp would look at a woman mowing the lawn and think "Poor her, she must not have a husband"

So, you feel odd mowing the lawn and are looking for suggestions on a lawn mower?

The answer is obviously a Flymo automower that mows the lawn itself. No/ input needed. You just bury the wies that tell he lawnmower where the lawn edges are and leave it to get on with the job :)

Do pick any dog poo up first, though (if you have dogs). The result of a mown dog poo is not pretty.

@nothingcomesforfree I think you’re missing the point of the responses. Are thee really people who see a woman mowing a lawn and think ‘oh she must be alone with no man to help her out’. What a terrible attitude that would be!
Anyway- what is wrong with being alone. Women don’t need men...
There is so much wrong with this thread that my brain hurts. Thank God there are some posters talking sense!!

I don’t touch the garden, but only because dp really enjoys it and I have terrible hay fever.
However the last time he put up a shelf it fell down, so diy is all me in this house.

vertically the neighbours are judgemental/ mierserabke/rude not me.

For all of us who do the grass ( because I have already said I do) and with partners; imagine your partner got sent to prison.
Your neighbours already know you cut the lawn so that’s not the problem. But there you are having to cut the lawn alone because your other half can’t. And they are all reminded that he is inside.

I think if you have judge neighbours it’s a bit like that as a single parent. You know their is speculation on your back story.

Mowing a loud and obvious job that attracts attention, thereby highlighting the fact that there is no one else to do it, to her miserable neighbours

How does a woman mowing the lawn highlight there is no one else to do it. Plenty of women mow the lawn when there is someone else to do it, haven't you read the thread? And I'm fairly sure her neighbours know she's single.

@nothingcomesforfree facepalm
I’m not even going to try and explain...