Therapy

I have had the opportunity to work in a couple of gardens this summer. Now for some, that may not seem like a great opportunity or privilege, but for me, it has been such a treat. There are three things that I have discovered over the years that decompress me:

Fishing
Working puzzles
Gardening

When I am doing menial work or mindless activity such as these, I relax, I contemplate, I reflect, I pray...all those good things that I imagine wise people are suppose to do. And I return to the activity of life refreshed and prepared to go again...I know that there are mom's that just go, go go (yes, Peg, you are one of the girls I am talking to) and I do think it is important for us each to find at least one thing that is therapeutic and take initiative to allow ourselves to indulge in that therapy on a regular basis.

While I was pulling weeds at my dads this morning, I was thinking of my mom and how bad of a gardener she was. She managed to kill every house plant we ever owned and we never had a garden, save a couple of sad little tomato plants and some rhubarb. The only time she had a green thumb was when she would stick it in her watercolors by accident.

But this time of year, mom LOVED tomato sandwiches - with big ripe tomatoes from the garden (our neighbor's garden, of course). I remember summer afternoons sitting with her at the kitchen table eating a tomato sandwich, slathered with mayonnaise, juice dripping down our arms and mom just oohing and ahhing about how good it was. Even when she got sick, tomato sandwiches always sounded good to her.

So...

I am thankful for the gardens I get to work in, I am thankful for the produce that I get to collect, I am thankful for the the quiet therapy of pulling weeds and I am very thankful for the tomatoes sandwiches I will soon get to eat and I will gladly (and tearfully) think of my mom!