My mighty Sears Roebuck 56-inch lawn mower roars to life as the last fleeting thoughts of climbing that peak in the Sierra Nevada, backpacking to Susie Lake and diving into that serene glacial soup fade away with so many other thoughts of triumph and adventure.

It’s Saturday morning, and the lawn needs mowing. The garage needs organizing and the mundane of my life takes over the dreams of new challenges and conquests.

I wonder if I’m alone in my thoughts. I watch my neighbor next door from my throbbing throne above the whirring blades. Does he have dreams? Does he long to ascend some great mountain? Are there marvels he longs to achieve?

My mind, between obligations, focuses on what I want to do as opposed to what I must do. I’m discussing building an addition for Chris, my oldest, and remodeling my middle son Shaun’s kitchen. I’m helping Darren, my youngest, to search for a new apartment in Sacramento.

I have my earplugs in. They block out all sound. There’s just the vibration of the engine as I round the farthest corner of the lawn. I mow down every sprig of grass and weed. I mow down my dreams of conquest and adventure.

My mind whirs through thoughts one by one, tossing each out like the many blades of dead grass.

Where did I go wrong, I ask myself? What turn in the road did I miss? Where would I have been had I taken that left fork in the trail?

I console myself with the thought that perhaps the scenery would be different, but the baseness of it all would be the same.

Like Sisyphus, I take the time between my burdens to relish the thought of adventure, abandoning the urbane and familiar for the mystery of the unknown.

David McLaughlin is a Novato resident. IJ readers are invited to share their stories of love, dating, parenting, marriage, friendship and other experiences for our How It Is column, which runs Tuesdays in the Lifestyles section. All stories must not have been published in part or in its entirety previously. Send your stories of no more than 600 words to lifestyles@marinij.com. Please write How It Is in the subject line. The IJ reserves the right to edit them for publication. Please include your full name, address and a daytime phone number.