The Garden - Day One

The garden is tilled. What looked like a small and manageable plot while covered with grass looks suddenly larger than most backyards. All the more room for Alex's pumpkins, I am telling myself. Pumpkins need a lot of space.

On the way home from school today, Alex bragged about his strong, muscular arms. I looked in the rear view mirror to admire the two pale twigs he held up. "I'm like a real grown up. My muscles are huge. I can do some real, real work."

"Great," I answered. "We are going to need some serious muscles to work in our garden today."

"Oh, yeah. I am sure ready for that," he said. Alex has begged for a garden every day for two years.

We ate a healthy lunch to keep our muscles strong, put Cate down for a nap and headed out into the sun drenched day to our small country of freshly tilled dirt. And rocks. Alex's strong muscles collected about three smallish stones before he collapsed in weary boredom. This was not what he had in mind. He just wanted to plant things. Rutabagas. Icicle radishes. You know. Plant things.

A pep talk about getting the garden ready, about building strong soil so we could grow healthy plants only darkened his mood. Bugs were bugging him. Everywhere. He needed a drink. He needed a popsicle. A bug was ON him. My gardening spirit started to dwindle. I pushed on and then headed indoors with him, hoping a brief rest would bring his mood around.

I worked around the house until Cate was awake, and then we all headed down to the garden. Cate caught on quickly. She is neat and organized. She likes order. She sorts her snack of raisins and almonds into separate piles before she eats it. She picks up other people's shoes and lines the up by the door. She caught on quickly. The first rock she picked up and delivered to the wagon was enough to motivate Alex. For two minutes, I had two highly inspired children. But then Cate got dirt in her shoe. She hates dirt in her shoe. Or a grain of sand on her hand. And needless to say, Alex's interest waned quickly after that. After all, he just wanted to plant things. Pulling rocks - obviously beneath him.

I kept working, my back to the two of them. It was quiet. I turned and found Alex and Cate at work. She handed him dandelions gone to seed. He pulled them apart and planted them. She handed him a rock. He planted it.

"Look, Mommy. We are planting!" I started to speak and then closed my mouth. Celebrate diversity.... tolerate dandelions reads a sign I just love. And Alex loves dandelions. Really, what is not to love? Imagine the success his first gardening effort will yield.

Tomorrow a new community garden will be planted behind the elementary school. Everyone is invited to show up with a positive attitude and a couple of tools. I plan to take Alex. I hope it will give him roots at his soon to be school and help him grow into a nurtured and thriving member of the community. "Would you like to help plant a new garden for all the community to share?" I asked him tonight.

"If I can be of help, I'll be there," he said with the air of an experienced gardener.

I wish I shared his confidence. But, I suppose we can make many a fine meal of dandelion greens and dandelion wine. Success, like beauty, is in the eyes of the beholder.

And we do have a good recipe for stone soup.