Yup, I know all about high maintenance.
Oh brother, you just ain't kiddin'. They can be messy, and if after working in the yard....phew! We always had a pretty nice yard, it was used as recompense for bad language or "physical" discussions, any unladylike activity which covered a multitude of sins. Every one of them at some time in their life at home spent time getting greasy working with me on various vehicles....you want to drive it, you help keep it up. It paid off big time for all of them at different points in their adult lives. But then there would be those times when they had a special date. A nervous young man would sit there waiting for his date to come out of the bedroom, all the while you'd think he was sitting on a bed of hot coals. Then suddenly his date would come into the room and you could hear him catch his breath....and so would I. Whichever one it was that evening I'd give them a hug, tell them they're beautiful, a kiss....and then they're gone.
It was a difficult assignment, bringing up four girls, but I wouldn't trade it for all the riches in the world. I know I'm a better person for the experience, I hope they are.
