My husband and I live on 9 acres right next door to his parents. They have 4 acres. Once a week, I mow the entire property, theirs and ours. I use a large Husquarvana for the open spaces and a smaller Sears Craftsmen for tight spots around the structures and trees. The Husquarvana belongs to us, the Craftsmen is a loaner from my brother.
I just received a call from my husband. He is visiting his dad but wanted to ask if it would be okay if his mother (Betty) used one of the mowers so she could mow (huh?). She is 70, has never used either of our mowers, and out of the clear blue wants to mow.
Before she retired, we worked for the same hospital, different departments. She had a notorious reputation for breaking everything, many departments used her as a guinea pig to test new items before a major purchase -- in other words, if the equipment passed the "Betty test", then it was virtually indestructible.
I told my husband that I didn't feel comfortable letting her use our large Husquarvana, that thing is very powerful. My husband then asked if it would be okay if she used the Craftsman. I told him that it didn't belong to us and is not ours to loan.
I could tell that his mother put him up to the phone call. I feel very uncomfortable about all this -- how would you have responded? Just wondering ....
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