On my challenged garden

I grow plants for many reasons:  to please my eye or to please my soul, to challenge the elements or to challenge my patience, for novelty or for nostalgia, but mostly for the joy in seeing them grow. – David Hobson

A late spring. A season of very dry weather.  A life full of long days and little energy to devote to gardening.   Is it any wonder my garden looks like it needs lots of TLC to help the flowers blossom and thrive?  The old faithful marigolds seem to make it no matter what.  I'm pretty sure next year, they will be the only flowers I plant.

I've been patiently watering my glads to see if I really didn't wait too long to plant them.  It was Father's Day this year.  That's pretty late.  Just planting them again this year was an experiment.  Last fall when I went through the long process of waiting until they died off naturally in the ground, pulling them out and letting them dry in the cool garage, removing all the unnecessary stuff to reveal the corms (or something like that) for next year's planting, storing them in a paper sack, and then setting them on a shelf until spring was A LOT of work.  I had my doubts.  Maybe I should say, I still have my doubts.

But then...last night I discovered some hope.  There might just be one that survived the challenge and will actually bloom.  Ah, the novelty, the nostalgia, the joy of seeing something actually happen that I hoped for. I can't wait to see what color pops out!

Thanks for stopping by!  Enjoy the moments that please your soul!  I'll be back soon...whenever the random thought strikes me again.

Marigolds are so hearty!

Only one orange one in the bunch.  I know I
planted more.

I can't wait to see what color blooms!

Guess I have more late starters happening.

And another one...

Still crooked, why is that?  

Oh yeah, Copper is still ready and willing to
head off on an adventure in the yard.   Wonder
what we'll find next time?  

Grow through life

Don’t go through life, grow through life. – Eric Butterworth

I'm sitting here wondering what it will be like in a couple weeks.  In a couple weeks, we'll be driving home after dropping off our youngest at college.  She'll be 6 hours away from home.  I wonder who will grow the most out of the experience?

I keep reminding myself, it is one of our roles as parents to help our children discover life and grow up.  I'm convinced that we as parents grow through each milestone just as much as the kids grow.  When our oldest moved away, I remember crying for a week (I hid it, no one knew).  But during that week, and the three years since she has moved, it's been a joy watching her discover life and grow up to be who she wants to be. As I parent I remain proud of her.  I grew too, which helps with this second round of letting go.

As the time quickly passes by this month, I'm sure there are days when I've simply gone through life.  More times than I'd like to admit to. You know, the days when it's a blur and it's hard to remember what did happen that day.  That's when I try to step back and take a breath and look around to see what has changed and what's left to do before she leaves.  I desperately want to help her get ready.  It's hard not to when you see the piles of half packed stuff.  I try, but then she quickly reminds me it's her journey, not mine.  Another opportunity for both of us to grow.

There's the part of me who has been there and done that that wants to tell her what to do and how to do it. But then, would she grow on her own and be who she's meant to be or would she be just taking on my perspective?  It's her life to discover, not mine to relive.  Lucky for both of us, she's confident enough to say "Mom, I've got this, it will be fine, just let me do it."

As parents, we think are our kids really grown up enough to be on their own when we first help them out the door to discover the big world out there?  Are we really grown up enough to let them go?  We have to, it's simply part of life.  If we look at it as an opportunity for both parties to grow, it is an exciting adventure where we can watch each other grow.  Letting go is always an opportunity to grow.

She quickly reminds me too...it'll be something to blog about....!  (Hint,  hint, time to get back to blogging mom!)

Thanks for stopping by!  Happy Sunday - enjoy the moments where life gives you opportunities to grow!

I may not get glad flowers this year, but the marigolds
always bloom where they are planted.

That wrinkled leaf is still there....maybe it will
produce a flower.  Maybe it will in two weeks...
the flowers will be here reminding me of how
she'll bloom where she lands...6 hours away.
Glad she is discovering a new place to grow!