From black to green

The past seven days have been so overwhelming, I feel like I'm still trying to catch my breath. As soon as Addie was feeling better, Daddy came down with whatever she had and it was a doozy. We have been on a sort of family lock down, which creates some nice bonding time but also leads to a touch of the crazies. Yesterday I think we hit our peak, but after promises that today would be better and a good night's sleep for everyone, things are looking up.

One way my spirits were lifted this morning was seeing the tiny sprouts shooting up from the egg carton Addie and I planted veggies in last week. This may not seem like a big deal, but let me assure you it is. You see, when it comes to plants, I kill everything I touch. Even the plants that are supposedly indestructible somehow end up dead in my care. Anything alive in this house (aside from the people and cat, of course) are strictly due to my husband and the fact that I stay as far away from the green things as possible.

As someone who loves fresh produce, herbs and flowers, this breaks my heart again and again. I have tried to garden on a limited basis with very mixed results. Most of my herbs don't make it and last year I think we got a total of two tomatoes off of three plants. This spring and summer I am determined to turn my black thumb to a green one. My real hope is that Addie inherited her father's knack for growing things, and that the two of them will override my curse.

So far, so good. Last Friday, Addie and I broke out the gardening kit my parents gave her for Easter and filled the egg carton with potting soil. She used her sweet little fingers to make holes in each nook and sprinkled the seeds in the right spots. Then I helped her cover them up and feed them with water. I was very pleasantly surprised at how well my girl handled the process and she was so proud that she did it nearly all by herself.

Now comes the frightening task of keeping these gems alive... I think as long as I have my amazing little gardener along with me, she and I can learn together and find success. Oh, I hope so!