A MomsLikeMe poll asked moms if they would rather have a smart child or a social child that was good with people. Many moms weighed in and said the would like to have a smart child. Many others said that it didn't matter if they were smart or not, that if they couldn't manage to navigate the social world the would never get to use their intellect and would be lonely and sad adults.
I asked my son, who was in the room, what he thought. His response was that he would like to be smart, of course, and that if he was, he would be smart in all areas in life including how to deal with people.
Sounds pretty smart to me, and I think he communicated his thoughts quite well.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Gardening
I have been gardening with the kids for several years now. When I started my first garden, I was astonished at how easy it was. You plant seeds and they grow. Food eventually grows on the plants and you have your very own produce isle in your backyard. The kids love to water the garden and pick the vegetables. It is truly a family project and one that we all enjoy on some level.
Last year we were devastated to come home and find that our backyard garden had been sprayed with something to kill it. I called on the experts at ISU who put me in contact with the proper organization who then sent a team to take samples of my garden. They analyzed the samples and determined that my garden, which is inside a 6 foot high privacy fence had been sprayed with Roundup. My family had been eating the food from that garden up until I noticed the leaves of my tomato plants turning yellow. Eventually the ripe, red tomatoes turned white and fell to the ground. I cried for a very long time last summer. My garden was ruined.
Knowing how upset I was, my mother came to my rescue. She offered up her yard to be turned into garden. She helped to buy a second round of plants to be planted. The garden at her house last year did not do well at all. We got quite a few acorn squash, but not much else. The rabbits ate everything else. It did, however keep me busy. It gave me a task and a direction to move in other than anger. While I don't like driving clear across town to garden and I don't like that I pass half a dozen grocery stores on my way to pick food that I could get closer to home, I do like that I am growing organic food that isn't sprayed, or waxed, or weeks old by the time I get it.
This year we are gardening at my mom's house. We turned our backyard garden into a wildflower garden. All food is being grown at my mom's house. This week I buried chicken wire around the perimeter of the garden to keep the rabbits out. I have mapped out what I want to grow and where. I am more organized. The kids are excited about getting fresh tomatoes and strawberries. They are enjoying their time playing outside in the fresh air. I am slowly getting into shape again after a long, snowy winter that kept me inside far too long. What we do not use this summer or freeze for the winter, I will donate to a local food pantry that has helped me out when I need it. Last year they were a great help since we did not get the food from our garden that we had counted on to feed our family.
There are always going to be rabbits in life and crazy people who will kill what you worked hard for. There will be disasters and accidents. It is how you handle these hardships that matter. I want my kids to learn that. There are a great many people in the world that can't roll with the punches. When life throws them a curve ball they crumple up and don't know what to do. I know. I do that, too. Then I get up and go about my life. I deal with the shock of things and then keep right on going. I have a lot of people that count on me for a lot of things. I don't have the luxury of giving up.
A lot of people have told me that they can't grow anything. I ask if they can grow weeds. If you can grow weeds, you can grow anything. Are you growing weeds in your life, or are you growing the good stuff, and do you share what you grow out of your life? Share the love, people.
Last year we were devastated to come home and find that our backyard garden had been sprayed with something to kill it. I called on the experts at ISU who put me in contact with the proper organization who then sent a team to take samples of my garden. They analyzed the samples and determined that my garden, which is inside a 6 foot high privacy fence had been sprayed with Roundup. My family had been eating the food from that garden up until I noticed the leaves of my tomato plants turning yellow. Eventually the ripe, red tomatoes turned white and fell to the ground. I cried for a very long time last summer. My garden was ruined.
Knowing how upset I was, my mother came to my rescue. She offered up her yard to be turned into garden. She helped to buy a second round of plants to be planted. The garden at her house last year did not do well at all. We got quite a few acorn squash, but not much else. The rabbits ate everything else. It did, however keep me busy. It gave me a task and a direction to move in other than anger. While I don't like driving clear across town to garden and I don't like that I pass half a dozen grocery stores on my way to pick food that I could get closer to home, I do like that I am growing organic food that isn't sprayed, or waxed, or weeks old by the time I get it.
This year we are gardening at my mom's house. We turned our backyard garden into a wildflower garden. All food is being grown at my mom's house. This week I buried chicken wire around the perimeter of the garden to keep the rabbits out. I have mapped out what I want to grow and where. I am more organized. The kids are excited about getting fresh tomatoes and strawberries. They are enjoying their time playing outside in the fresh air. I am slowly getting into shape again after a long, snowy winter that kept me inside far too long. What we do not use this summer or freeze for the winter, I will donate to a local food pantry that has helped me out when I need it. Last year they were a great help since we did not get the food from our garden that we had counted on to feed our family.
There are always going to be rabbits in life and crazy people who will kill what you worked hard for. There will be disasters and accidents. It is how you handle these hardships that matter. I want my kids to learn that. There are a great many people in the world that can't roll with the punches. When life throws them a curve ball they crumple up and don't know what to do. I know. I do that, too. Then I get up and go about my life. I deal with the shock of things and then keep right on going. I have a lot of people that count on me for a lot of things. I don't have the luxury of giving up.
A lot of people have told me that they can't grow anything. I ask if they can grow weeds. If you can grow weeds, you can grow anything. Are you growing weeds in your life, or are you growing the good stuff, and do you share what you grow out of your life? Share the love, people.
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