Blessed

Last night, I just sat by the TV all evening. I wondered if I was just lazy or if I still had lack of energy from this cold I have been nursing. Was I turning into a couch blob? But tonight, it is 7:00 and I am sitting down for the first time. Now, if I still had a little person, I would not be sitting down yet at all. But I am learning to enjoy my free time with having only a teenager at home. Today I came home, cooked a real supper, cleaned up, ran a store errand, and weeded half of the backyard. That's as good as it gets these days. In my 20s, I was free to lounge on the couch, as much as I wanted. We moved to a house and there was plenty to do, although there was plenty of rest then, too. We had a garden, Unfortunately, we did not grow vegetables; for some reason, I am hampered in that arena. I did grow herbs and flowers. At one point, I had collected over 100 varieties of plants. I know that because I have it recorded somewhere. In the 90s, we moved to the house we are in now and renovated it. It was a foreclosure house and it was as bad as you can imagine. There was always much to do. The first year or two, we did a great job with our flowers. With the renovations, EM was the primary worker and I was the minimum-wage, unpaid helper. He said I talked more than any helper he had ever had, but I pointed out that his other helpers were paid. I could be silent for a price also. This new house, along with renovations, was over twice the size of the old house. That's twice the vacuuming, dusting, bathrooms, etc. So I stayed busier. The gardens fell by the wayside.

Then, an miracle happened. We adopted a little girl. Then we were even busier, snuggling, laughing, chasing. Who cared about gardening? All that could come later. This year, I am determined to increase my gardening. Right now, we have poppies, poker plants, thyme and coreopsis is blooming. Lamb's ear is emerging. Tulips have bloomed and gone. Sunflowers, zinnias, thyme, and four o'clocks are up and blooming. Basil, blanket flower and green beans don't appear to be coming up. The last two Saturdays, I've been too busy to go to the farmer's market for baby plants. I have to have at least two basil plants. I hope to go this weekend. I'm ready to start seriously collecting plants again.

 Maybe I'm not lazy. Maybe I'm just blessed.