Training

These are times of training and learning new skills. While my 2 year old is whining, laughing, crying and celebrating his way through potty training, I am doing the same with designing our garden for next year.

First came the onslaught of seed catalogs. This led me to my computer to see if they "qualified" under my "rules". Most do not, because they are owned by Monsanto. After I whittled the piled down to my two favorites, Seed Savers Exchange and Fedco, I created my dream garden.

Eight varieties of tomatoes for canning, making sauce and eating fresh, five varieties of lettuce, 4 varieties of beans, two varieties of peas, ground cherries, butternut squash, pumpkins, zucchini, yellow squash, broccoli, chard, four varieties of peppers, three types of basil, oregano, chives, and a plethora of flowers. Do you see a problem here? I do. I have 5, count them 1..2..3..4..5 raised beds. 1 large and 4 small. Hmmm. When a seed packet shows it is capable of planting 6 hills of squash, well that is what the seed deserves.

My first step is to convince my husband that we need to expand our garden. I mean REALLY expand the garden. He looks away. Cue the whining. "We reeeeeeeeeally need to do this. Pleeeeeeeeeeeeease."

Cue the laughter. These are not the sounds of my giggles, rather, my husband's. "You want to do what?" "How much do you think that will cost?"

Cue the tears. These ARE mine. "You don't understand, I am trying to make good food for OUR family!" Please note, these have NO effect on the previously mentioned laughter.

The only way to deal is to head over to your girlfriend's house with your precious seed catalogs and a bottle of wine. Cue the celebration. Perhaps they will bring me to a happy, sedated sort of garden reality.

So we are all being trained. 2 year olds are learning to "use the potty".   37 year olds are learning to build something dreamy and wonderful within their means. For both of us, we have to find the answers from within. As Galileo said, "You cannot teach a man anything. You can only help him discover it within himself".  Personally, I think you can always figure it out over a bottle of wine with the girls.