Have I told you about the time I accidentally ripped the door off of our mailbox?
… with our lawn mower?
It was an honest mistake.
I was on our riding lawn mower, one of those zero turn machines, and I was maneuvering around the mailbox area. There’s a nice little paver border around the post, so I can’t actually get too close.
That’s a lie, I can get too close. And I did.
I forgot there was a bagger on the back of the mower, and when I turned how I usually do, I felt something pull on the mower and then I heard something metal hit the road.
Mailbox door.
The bagger is big. And I completely forgot to leave a little extra room on my turn, so it grabbed the mailbox and that was that. Truthfully, I was just thankful that the metal sound on the road wasn’t a piece of the mower.
I decided to grab some tools because I was sure I could fix the mailbox myself. And after and hour of screwdriver-ing, rubber mallet-ing, hammering, and plier-ing, I put the tools away and left the mailbox door in the garage.
And when Keith came home that day, I explained about my little accident and insisted I wanted to know HOW to fix it, not just have him fix it. And then we worked on it together and discovered that it wasn’t as simple of a fix as I thought.
Because even though that mailbox door looked like it had just popped out of place, the entire box was a little warped. And needed to be coaxed back into its original shape. The hinge for the door needed complete replacement, and a new magnet had to be attached so that the door will stay closed.
It was right about this time when I stopped feeling dumb for not being able to fix the mailbox on my own. For one thing, I didn’t know how mailboxes were put together. And for another, I entirely underestimated the damage I had done.
That’s when my shame turned to pride. I mean, who can do that much damage to a mailbox but still have it looking so good? I didn’t even know it was possible to create so much internal damage from the outside.
The mailbox door doesn’t open quite the same as it used to. The hinge is a little tighter now and the new magnet requires a bit more effort. And every time I check the mail, I laugh a little on the inside.
And wonder if our neighbors were able to enjoy the free entertainment, as I butchered our mailbox that day.
Ideas for one day when I inevitably tear the whole thing down:
