Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Life Just Wants To Live

Since moving to New Jersey I've planted a garden every spring.  Some season's yields are better than others but that's life in the backyard garden.  Last Spring I decided to experiment with lettuce.  I heard lettuce was fragile and hard to raise.  Nevertheless I bravely planted my seeds.  The days turned into weeks and the weeks into months and before either I or the lettuce seeds knew it, Fall had arrived.  Notice that even in Fall I still referred to the lettuce as the lettuce seeds.  That's because nothing happened.  No lettuce at all.  Lots of okra and chard and kale but no sign of a single lettuce leaf.  And then, kind of like it always does, Fall stepped aside for winter.  This past winter was long and it was cold.  Really cold.  Really long.  We had a few heavy snow storms, too.  Winter has apparently finally ended and so I went to the garden to prepare it for spring planting.  I pulled up the early and rapidly growing weeds reminding myself that a weed is just a plant we don't want growing where it is currently growing.  I raked away pine needles and all sorts of other stuff.  And then I saw it.  One little lettuce plant looking so bright and cheery.  I was stunned.  How did this fragile little lettuce plant survive such a long and cold and, yes, bitter winter?  Clearly lettuce isn't as delicate as its reputation would lead us to believe.  Also, life turns to life just as the night turns to the sunrise.  I'm, of course, not going to eat that lettuce plant.  I think I'll just leave it alone and see how long it can keep coming back.  Perhaps none of us is as fragile as we have led ourselves to believe.  Perhaps that's why we just keep coming back for more time in the sun.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Loved this Mary, three cheers for your little seedling! I don't think words like fragile or delicate should have to carry so much weight in our minds. "Be careful!! Delicate items break if you drop them." or " I'd rather you didn't touch that, it's much too fragile. ". I have a 14 yr. old cat with chronic illness causing him to be delicate and yet with a gentle look he subdues two other males, 17 and 20lbs and maintains his head of household status. Three years ago my husband had hip replacement surgery putting him in an extremely fragile position while he healed. Not only was I amazed at his inner strength and determination but his fragility created a remarkable bond between us. Fragile and delicate... Sometimes these things fall on the floor and break, sometimes they bounce, roll and survive. Sometimes, against all odds, they flourish.

MaryWalkerBaron said...

Thank you so much, Anonymous, for your comments. I agree that hitting the floor doesn't necessarily mean breakage.