What I Know About Motherhood, I Learned from My Garden: Let Children Be Children

Let Children Be Children:
  
  I have finally decided to continue with my garden blog.  My plan for the next several months is to write about things I have learned from my garden about motherhood.  Now that I am a mother and I continue to grow seeds for my garden, my thoughts have turned to how I can be a better mother.  My garden is providing wonderful insights into motherhood.  As a new mother, I would never ever claim to know everything about motherhood, but I hope that what I write will be both helpful and somewhat fun :).  

  Usually, I buy my onion, tomato, pepper, and tomatillo plants from a local nursery.  This year, however, I decided to grow all of them from seed myself.  It has been a lot of hard work and a lot of prayers.  It took a while for all the plants to come up, but after they had all made their appearance, the weather started to get warm.  I decided it was time to put them outside during the sunny hours of the day.  I thought I was being so clever because it is important to ween the plants off their grow lights and introduce them to sunlight slowly so they don't sunburn when you plant them in the garden.  Well, I was very good about moving the plants out during the day and in at night so they wouldn't freeze.  I made sure they had enough water and were only put outside on the warmest of days.  Unfortunately, I started to notice that they plants weren't looking as healthy as they had been before.  I realized that they were looking droopy and somewhat depressed and that I had put them outside too soon.  I had jumped the gun and had started their weening a little too early.  They needed to be kept in where it was warm a little while longer.

  As I have thought about this experience, I realize that kids are a lot like seeds and parents are like gardeners.  Children have this time in life when they just need to be kids.  We as parents have this time in life when we help our children grow.  Children need the warmth only parents can give and if we push them out into the "cold" too soon, they begin to look "droopy and depressed."  They need to be able to learn from our examples.  They need a safe place where they can make mistakes and learn from them.  There will come a time when our children will be ready for the "cold," but it is important to keep them "warm" as long as they need.  When they are ready, they will have what it takes to adjust to the changes around them, much like plants make adjustments from grow lights to full sunlight.  If we give our children the help, love, and support they need when they are being kept "warm," they are more likely to succeed when they are out in the "cold."  I am not saying that all children who grow up in a loving and peaceful environment will always make it, but they will just have a better chance of survival.  I am also not trying to say that children who are pushed out into the "cold" can't make it.  The lesson I learned from this is that for most children, they need the warmth only parents can bring.  Let us love and cherish our children.  Let us wrap our arms around them and tell them we love them.  Let us help them put down roots and help them grow strong before they have to leave our arms and find their own way in that vast garden we call the world.

 Now, back to my plants.  I am happy to say that most of my starts have perked right up.  I only lost 2 of the plants I had planted.  I love gardening and the lessons I learn when I open myself up to them.  So, whether you grow plants or you "grow" children, I say to you: Happy gardening!!!