In the garden, we work together, Princess of the Universe and I. She watches me turn over shovels full of rich ground, breaking it up and savoring its potential to give life.
I cannot describe how it makes me feel to see her working the ground, lost in her own thoughts as she plays with the dirt, learning its texture and its wonderful smell. Nothing smells like freshly turned soil, you know.
I imagine myself a real gardener. A pioneer. More my great-great-grandmother than myself, as I wonder: could I have planted enough, and tended it well enough, to feed my family if this was all we had?
My daughter has not yet given up. Pulling the hoe across the ground she makes three straight rows. Pulling a little packet of seeds from her pocket she reads and plants in quietness. The quietness of our tiny garden.
I love my garden, but I love Princess of the Universe more. For every month she lived in me and her very life depended on my own heartbeat, my love for her is multiplied a million times. No. More. It’s more than I can measure.
Sometimes I think I have the market cornered on mother love, but no, I suppose we all love our children just that way. If we didn’t, I guess life wouldn’t be worth living.
Maybe it’s a little thing that she loves the ground and loves to garden, but I think she got it from me. Imagine. A little part of me, in her. I cannot help but treasure her. I cannot help but treasure especially any little part of her that shines forth as something good that I have wanted to teach her.
Lynn
PS – We planted collards yesterday.
for you to leave a comment, but you can also e-mail me at lynn AT thehealthyhomeschool.com
Love your thoughts here sweet friend! I love how you appreciate nature in so many different ways. You are a blessing!
Love,
Leslie
PS I feel the same way about loving my children. It’s amazing, isn’t it?!
It is amazing! So amazing. I think the love that a mother has for her children is God-given.
Love you,
Lynn