Green Grass

Do you know what it takes to have green grass? The type of grass the is lush, thick and feels oh so good under your feet. It takes these 3 things water, fertilizer and regular mowing. I did not come up with this on my own, it is an age old practice and its pretty simple. A few weeks back I ran across an article that struck me on the head like a 2x4. Not because it was new found advice, but because it was well written. I meant to bookmark it and share here but I did not and now I cannot find it! In essence it is about looking over someones fence and wanting what they have, yet not willing to put in the work to get it. They want it instantaneously, right now!! Her words to that young woman "honey it don't work that way." Over on the right side of this blog is a list of subjects that I refer to as "Tending to your Gardens" and it ties into what this lady was saying. We all must tend our gardens, if not they become overrun, weedy, dry, and unable to grow what we desire them to grow. Are you with me on this?
If you want a well organized home then you are going to have to put in the effort, sure it can be emotionally draining and tears are involved to "let go" of things and move on, but I assure you its worth it. If you want a reasonably clean home, same thing.....effort and devoloping a routine. That may even entail combining that with your family/relationship garden in communicating your plan and expectations. In my own personal life I must say I have a gorgeous vegetable garden that can produce some serious amounts of food. Someone asked me if I was part Hutterite, I laughed, underneath I was rubbed a bit because of the underlying notion that one must have garden background to be a good vegetable producer.Wrong-O!! My parents did not garden, I learned this on my own, because it was of interest to me. I bought some garden books and started from there. When I was in my teens I would buy packs of flowers from my neighbors greenhouse to enjoy and that is indeed what sparked my interest. With the support of my husband, whose parents did not garden but they did grow wheat, barley and other various things dryland farmers produce, and buckets of sweat with the digging and sometimes reworking areas on occasion, I can say I am a master gardener, and I am still learning. I have heard rumor that one cannot be called a master gardener unless they take some course from a garden club. Total Rubbish! I dont agree with that at all, because one can be book smart and answer all the questions correctly but can they garden? Are they willing to apply the knowledge?

All aspects of our lives are like little mini gardens within our larger garden, our work places, our individual friendships, our lovers, our children,our finances, our homes, our garages, our hobbies, now expand to schools, communities, counties etc. If you want these areas of your life to flourish then you must be willing to put in the work. Now pause for a moment and think about the times you have busted tail and have done alot of work and still that part of the garden is failing.......time to weed! Are you willing to put so much effort into one area, meanwhile your other gardens are getting parched, devoid of your attention. This is where balance comes in. Sure you will experience times when one section indeed demands your time and attention, yet it is not weeds. Like children and husbands and wives, for example, they will take up a considerable amount of your time and attention, and they should!!! They need the correct balance of nutrients(food,discipline,love)in their lives to maintain and grow. I am not condoning martyr type behavior by any means, giving all and not taking care of oneself! Even gardeners know when to stop watering and get a drink for themselves. My galfriend TPG, sent me this last summer and I would like to share with ya'll...."There's a point in your life when you get tired of trying to fix everything and trying to make everyone happy. When you finally decide to quit, it's not giving up. It's realizing you don't need certain people and the bullshit they bring to your life." Very fitting in certain scenarios. We were both having some issues in our lives and having a hard time letting go. This was perfect, no one wants to be a quitter, but there are times when throwing in the towel and walking away is the healthiest thing to do.

One must not be envious of the grass on the other side of the fence. You don't know what it took to get there, are you willing to put in that effort? I will leave you with a fabulous quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson:"The force of character is cumulative. Character is born out of a dedication that eventually becomes habit".

Its Tuesday!!Tend to your gardens. Mine happens to be the basement today, a few redheaded raccoons have been down there messing around, and I do have areas that need some sprucing and cleaning.
S.C.