Things have started to sprout in our greenhouse! Tender, sweet small shoots and unblemished, crisp little leaves. I wonder if bringing a garden to fruition helps appease control issues that are such a part of growing up. The power to nurture or neglect.
The children have a grandmother who is very attentive to living things. They speak to her on the phone almost every Sunday, and she will listen forever to the prattling that is about as organized as a planet explosion. When my kids are around her she thrills in their individuality, and makes an authentic effort to get to know what makes them tick.
Her birthday is April 9th, and we decided that as a nod to Spring, and the success of our garden, and her ability to keep lovely plants and flowers inside and outside her pretty cottage of a home we would do a plant theme. One child drew a picture of our greenhouse, the other of an enchanted garden.
We talked about Grandma and what it is that makes her wonderful, in essence, what it is about her that contributes to the fertile soil that is helping her grandchildren grow. Here are some quotes:
She plants herbs.
She let's us raid her pantry.
She is fun.
She tells good stories.
Her favorite colors -- green and blue -- are some of my favorite colors.
She goes on walks with us. One really hard hike. And she did it!
She looks good in a striped shirt.
She makes good spaghetti.
Her house is pretty -- with no junky stuff.
She tries to eat healthy.
She has a birdcage in the garden with a bird in it.
She goes to church.
She respects chickens.
She prepares her whole house before we come.
Her watch is cool.
Her hairstyle is right.
She makes us feel really, really special.
We like how she smells.
She's fair.
In 1915 Robert Frost published "A Prayer in Spring." The first stanza reads:
Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers to-day;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.
I think that this perspective is one of the greatest gifts that my mother-in-law gives to my children: she teaches them to appreciate, and be grateful for, and be present in the moment. In this moment we are talking on the phone. In this moment we are enjoying our meal together. In this moment we have each other, and all is well.
