Most people would consider mowing the lawn a chore. But I just finished mowing my lawn and I am geeking out. I’m not crazy (or, as I tell my husband, I’m “the good kind of crazy”), but mowing the lawn was, dare I say, “fun” for three reasons.

I’ve lived in apartments my whole life. I never had a lawn to cut, til now. As a first time homeowner, mowing my lawn feels like an accomplishment. I’m sure 12 year-olds that mow lawns for extra money do not share my thoughts here. And that’s okay.

In fact, I know a kindergarten girl that has better lawnmower technique than I do, and that’s okay too. I enjoyed mowing my lawn because it was another reminder that I now own a home (and thus I’m responsible for maintaining it). I told you, I’m just a little crazy.

The second reason I enjoyed mowing my lawn is because I haven’t had a proper workout since before I had my son. And holy crap, mowing the lawn was a workout.

I’m not gonna lie, part of the reason my “lines” look so weird is that I drove the lawnmower not just based on where there was grass, but also what muscle group I needed to work. There’s a big hill in my yard – great for sledding, not so great for mowing. To tackle this lawn I switched up my strategy and thus my path. I pushed the lawnmower down the hill, I walked backwards and pulled the lawnmower up the hill, and I cut little rectangles on the flat areas just to give myself a break from the hill. If my lawn looks like I had ADHD while cutting the grass, now you know why.

The third reason I enjoyed cutting my lawn is because I’m a scientist. Oh, sure, my husband gave me all the best advice on how to mow the lawn and where to go. But did I listen to him? No. We already have data are for what happens when you do it his way. We do not have data for what happens when Danielle does it her own way. And now we know – the lawn pattern looks kinda funny, it takes a little bit longer, and my legs feel AHH-MAZING.

Of course one huge caveat to my enjoyment is that it was only 60*F outside, and it’s the first sunny day in…too long. Farewell Polar Vortex.

After 90 minutes, my lawn looked fresh, my legs were burning, my palms had baby calluses, my FitBit was satisfied for the day, and I was in need of a cold glass of water. And I was still smiling.

Ask me again when it’s “dog-breath” humid in July if I still get this much enjoyment from cutting my lawn. I guess it’s not cool to cut your lawn at 4 am before the heat, so I’ll have to think of something else to make it fun.