Friday, May 25, 2012

Garden of Dreams

This past Sunday, I was finally able to use my Mother's Day present! I planted my seeds into the pots that Todd and Evie gave me while Todd mowed the lawn and Evie played in the sunshine. I finally took some pictures of them today:
The big pot is where I planted my stargazer lilies. The smaller pot on the left next to the roses holds my onions; the matching pot on the right side holds my strawberries
This rectangle pot holds two different herbs: the left side contains oregano while the right side contains anise.
This little pot holds my impatiens.
This little pot holds my zinnias.
This is the pansy plant that Todd gave me for Easter.
My zinnias seem to be sprouting! When I watered my plants today, I noticed three little green things in my zinnia pot! When Todd came home, there were seven!
All together, my pots make a really pretty picture. I think they'll be even prettier once they start blooming!
I also plan on adding a pot of tomatoes, and another rectangle pot for fennel and basil to my little garden. These plants are actually the beginnings of a budding dream of mine. For the past year, I've had little flickers of ideas that are now all kind of weaving together to form a single tapestry. It started by thinking that it would be fun to start a family salsa garden: growing tomatoes, peppers, onions, etc. and making our own salsa in the fall. Then, a few months ago when we were thinking about getting pregnant again, I started thinking about what a beautiful miracle birth is. The day that my daughter was born was one of the best of my life, and I hope that other mothers get to feel that overwhelming sense of joy and love when they have their own babies. Then it occurred to me that I could help other mothers experience that miracle. I went to this website and started doing research on how to become a doula. Meanwhile, one of the sisters in our ward that I visit-taught uses essential oils to heal those around her. We had a couple of really interesting conversations about how they work and what they can do, and I realized that there was a whole world of information that I wanted to learn about. Along the same lines, I recently had a lady come into my work looking for a tea to help dry up a mother's milk. We couldn't find it, but instead we found a tea that helps a mother produce more milk. I'd had no idea that we carried such a thing, but I was a little intrigued by the thought of being able to make more milk this time around than I did with Evie. I went to the manufacturer's website to do some more research, and found a plethora of all-natural products for new mamas and babies.
This brought the simmering cauldron of ideas that I'd been slowly adding to for several months to a full boil.  Wouldn't it be fun to grow my own fruits and vegetables and make my own baby food? Wouldn't it be fun to grow my own herbs to help stimulate milk flow? Wouldn't it be fun to mix together concoctions that could benefit and heal those around me? Wouldn't it be fun to help other mothers bring their babies into the world? Wouldn't it be fun, in essence, to be the village witch? I had a sudden vision of being the wise lady that everyone turns to for comfort, advice, and healing. And it felt right. Maybe this is what I'm supposed to do with my time. Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing after all that I never finished my degree; for less cost than a single semester's worth of courses, I could gain a marketable trade that could benefit me, my family, and women around me. And I could work out of my home, and still spend time growing my plants and my children. So I'm starting small; I'm growing a few yummy fruits/vegetables, a few helpful herbs, and a few pretty flowers. I think that my next step will be checking some of the required doula literature out of the library.
Just to be clear, I'm still going to eat meat, and ice cream, and white bread without preaching about the evils of salt and sugar to anyone that will listen. I'm not one of those "organic" moms who use cloth diapers and obsess about the ingredients in baby food. At least, not yet. :) All I'm trying to do right now is help my family be healthy and happy while I learn how to be a more well-rounded and better wife, mother, neighbor, and person.

No comments:

Post a Comment