Staying Grounded and Planting Seeds

I just got off the phone with my mom, and we were speaking about finding joy in our current constant state of media, COVID crisis, and unkind world. This is not an easy thing to do on some days.

People are feeling fatigued. A new friend of mine, Rocky, wrote this post about COVID fatigue on families, especially moms. She speaks the truth of so many of us right now.

Even kids have fatigue. My teenager said that nearly every conversation we have with her has to have mention of COVID. I don’t mean it to be that way. I’m trying to scale back by not saying the word that quickly ruins a middle school moment of joy.

People are feeling all these crazy feelings. Some of them are doing crazy things. Just turn on the news for two minutes and you’ll see.

Better yet, turn off the news for a few hours, a whole day, or even days if you can. Your mind and soul will thank you for that.

I’m trying to stay grounded and count my blessings. This can feel like an impossible chore on some days. That’s why I turn to different activities to help.  

As a fellow mom, Casey S., in the Pensacola Moms Collective wrote, we moms need recess too. We need an outlet, a way to express our creativity, or just a break from the daily throws of motherhood and life.

Lately, to escape from harsh realities, I’m planting seeds, literal seeds. My youngest daughter received a cabbage plant a few months ago. Since then she began wanting to plant other things – a lemon tree, flowers, and other vegetables. We’ve bought soil, a raised planter, and three months of vegetables from Abby, a kid entrepreneur we know who is a gardener.  We began our gardening project in late spring and have been watching our plants grow.

This has been an unexpected therapy for me. I walk outside and see all of these pots filled with greenery on my back porch. And I smile. I see them growing every few days. Sometimes the difference in one day is incredible.  

I never did any gardening until this year. My dad grew flowers and had (still has) a meticulous lawn, but I never had anyone around to teach me horticulture. I’ve been watching videos online and finding articles to learn more about what we’re growing – tomatoes, cucumbers, rosemary, bell peppers, sunflowers, broccoli, and more.

This new hobby with my youngest daughter is bringing me hope and enjoyment. With so much out of my control lately, I like having a dozen of plants to focus on.

Gardening can get out of control too. Weather can ruin it. Bugs and critters find their way sneakily into your garden and eat up leaves overnight. This has happened to us many times. (We finally caved in and bought Seven Dust to save our vegetables and flowers.)

We see things droop one day and come back strong the next day. Those are the days I feel most satisfied. I’ve watched an entire group of plants wilt and then one little fighter among the bunch will remain, determined to live, no matter what.

I keep looking at this plant life and comparing it to people and our human life cycle – watching people grow, watching people fight to live, watching some lose the battle, seeing new seeds planted and the cycle lives on.

I’m glad I stepped out of what I naturally thought was a black thumb, instead of a green thumb. I’m glad I let my youngest daughter talk me into getting more plants.

I thought I’d end up doing this all myself. And some days I do. But now I like it.

There I said it. I like gardening now. Who would have thought? Definitely not me.

I share this because I believe we should all try something we think we won’t like. Try it and give it a chance. Grow something. Make something. Bake something. Watch it flourish.

I like that my kids do things that I never did (or did not have the opportunity to do) when I was their age – sing in a professional children’s chorus, act in a theater production, sew fabrics, dance an Irish jig, raise a pet and so much more.

But who knows, maybe I will do some of these things later in my life, when I make the time and choose to do them. It’s never too late to find something you enjoy and try a new activity.