The Garden Bug

As a child my family had a garden.  And by garden I mean at least an acre that had to be worked every week.  I remember kneeling in the hot garden, sweat rolling down my brow, sweat bees stinging me behind my knees every move I made, and swearing that I would never do that again.  I knew that once I grew up and could make those decisions, I would never garden again.  That’s it, no more, I’m done with it.

Fast forward a few years and I am a young mother who for some strange reason decides I need a little garden.  Well I do know the reason, fresh tomatoes.  There is nothing better than a fresh tomato sandwich.  So the garden bug bit me a little and I made a “small” garden.  And I would have been happy at that if only the calves didn’t escape their pens and destroy it all in one night.

So with calves a frolicking, babies crying, and all those childhood garden memories swarming in my head, I decided that the garden just wasn’t worth it.  So for a few years I resisted the garden bug and did a good job at it I must say.

Fast forward a few more years.  Not a single calf in sight, the boys are growing, and I had the great fortune to marry a wonderful lady who…. wanted a garden.

ZAP!!!!!!!  The garden bug really got me this time.  All last fall and winter we poured through garden plans and talked about what we wanted to plant.  I signed up for every seed catalog I could find and spent last Winter reading and re-reading them.  And let me tell you, with 3 feet of snow and no electricity, those catalogs really saved my sanity.

So I have officially re-entered the world of gardening and I have to admit that I love it.  I love planting the tiny little seeds and watching for them to sprout.  I really enjoy the hours spent on my knees pulling weeds and feeling the warm sun on my shoulders.  But most of all, I am enjoying the fresh tomatoes and the salads and sharing all of this with my family.

And now the garden bug has bitten my boys.  They want to plant a garden of their own next year and I can’t wait to help them.  I can’t wait to see if this bite will last just a year or two or if they will become life long gardeners.  I hope their garden experience will be a lot more pleasant than mine at that age.  I hope they feel the warm dirt and find that connection that goes deeper than just food for the table.  It is a connection of all living and breathing things.  And it is a gift I think all children should have.

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