The power of planting.....

"Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful: they are sunshine, food and medicine to the soul."...Luther Burbank

"Remember that children, marriages, and flower gardens reflect the kind of care they get." H Jackson Brown Jr.

I sent Wes off to his first day of preschool.  To say I have been nervous about this is putting it mildly for many reasons.  Thankfully it went very well and he spent 3 lovely hours learning with a fantastic teacher.  That's really not what I want to talk about.  Well, the three hours - that's what I want to talk about.

I have been excited for Wes to go to school not only for his benefit but also for that of my youngest boy, Noah.  Poor Noah is often just along for the ride.  A passenger to and from the others activities.  His days are dictated by who needs to get dropped off and picked up.  I have been excited for this day to come simply to have some one-on-one time with him.  Today we gardened.

I am not a "gardener" by any stretch.  My parents were avid gardeners and I don't dole out that title lightly.  We lived on 3 1/2 acres and they made good use of most of it.  They  woke up early and almost always had dirt under their fingernails.  Where this may not exactly be my style, and while I did spend many a summer morning grumbling about weeding the "stupid garden," I did learn something.  Gardens are teaching tools in many ways for children.  My parents taught me about hard work, trials, prayer, obedience, and love in that garden.  I don't have anything to that scope but I feel like it is important to pass some of that along.

Noah and I walked hand in hand into the garden store and he helped me pick out both vegetables and flowers.  He was ripping the leaves off of the plants behind him in the cart so told him not to touch them anymore.  When the cashier lifted the plant to scan it he looked with dismay and said with his pointer finger raised, "No!  Don't touch it!"  Gotta love it when they listen

As I worked side by side with my almost 2 year old, he with his plastic shovel and me with my metal one, I felt it.  I talked to him about dirt, about flowers, about sunshine.  He ran around me while I plucked rocks out of the soil.  I look forward to showing him how to water the plants and watch both grow.  Today I was really there with him.  Nobody else, just him,  me, and the dirt.   It was priceless.