Today I’m responding to two separate “back where I came from” questions for Suzanne McClendon’s September Challenge, which is comprised of 30 questions (one for each day of this month).

I’m responding to these two questions today because they are closely related.

Day 21: Were there any flowers growing in your yard back home? What kind? Were you or your parents good gardeners?

I was never into horticulture, but I do remember that we had lilac bushes, azaleas, rhododendrons, and fruit trees in our backyard and some kind of bushes on either side of our front door that bumblebees apparently found quite attractive. I do recall my parents spending some time working to keep the trees, bushes, and flowers around our property looking nice.

Day 22: Did you have chores when you were a kid? What were they? What did you think about having chores? What was your least favorite chore? Is it still?

This is related to the question above because one of my chores was to mow the lawn every week. I was also tasked with watering the plants and trees. In the winter my job was to shovel the snow off of our driveway and sidewalk. I became so proficient at cutting grass and shoveling snow that I earned extra spending money by selling my weekly grass cutting services to various neighbors in the summers and as-needed snow shoveling services during the winters.

I also had to keep my bedroom neat and clean, and to make my bed every morning. And on most nights I had to wash the dinner dishes.

Shoveling snow was my least favorite chore back then, which is why I currently live in a part of the country where it never snows.