Parents have the most erratic tendencies and most, if not all of the time, their kids are at the receiving end of their latest discovery or adventure of the season. For some, it could be a new pill, a new routine, a new spice, or a newfound theory about a disease. For others, it might be a trend or piece of information that leads to hours of watching laughable, obviously edited WhatsApp videos or reading excessively long and unexciting broadcast messages. Surely, you’ve been a victim of your parents’ love, care, and curiosity. if you’re still standing without snapping, I commend your growth.
Taking a short nap after morning devotion is like the crux of my morning, it’s equivalent to a daily dose of caffeine… if I do say so myself. So hearing my name that morning as the output of my mother’s yell was a real puzzle to me. After long minutes of bewilderment at the tone of her voice, and mustering the strength to stand up, I finally did, brokenheartedly of course and went out to meet my mom. And there she stood in all her motherly glory with garden tools, seedlings and a large smile of determination on her face. If only the tone of her voice rendered me startled and left me puzzled, then this vision of my mom all armored up had me drowning in the pool of confusion. All that went through my mind at that moment was “Oh no not again“
Ignoring all the tools which bothered me was hard, but then I was able to look past that and return her smile and ask her why she called me. Expecting and at the same time praying against the obvious response and still trying to figure out the situation, she broke the news that would change the course of my very long break forever and ever and ever (dramatic emphasis intended). The last time I held a hoe was probably in secondary school and trust me, those memories were better left undisturbed. But as you would have guessed, I’m not the best at, you know, agricultural processes (lol I would have just said farming/gardening but naaaah). But this was the beginning of something I would come to love and appreciate.
Standing opposite my mom, caught between sleep and the reality of having to weed the small space that would become our garden, with my least favorite invention of man (a hoe) in hand, her exuberance was somewhat disturbing. Still, I managed to snap out of it and focus on doing something completely different from my usual routine.
We started with sweet melons, corn, and okra, then moved on to peppermint leaves, cucumbers, garden eggs, peppers, alefo, tomatoes, waterleaf, basil leaves, and a variety of other crops. In the beginning, waking up early and sacrificing my short nap, which made up most of the sleep I got, to water the plants on days it didn’t rain or check on their progress felt like a chore. I didn’t like it. But over time, I got used to it. And after a while, I even started looking forward to it.
The thing I realized about gardening was that it spared me time to think, breathe and feel positive energy coupled with the joy of experiencing growth from scratch. I got to realize and learn lessons that weren’t in books or classrooms, things that only experience could teach. The most important lesson I learnt and would like to share is that growth is such a slow and hard process. Then there’s also the role of the sun and water which to me symbolizes the kind and amount of energy, influence and information we expose ourselves to. The sun is good for plants but when it becomes too much it burns that same plant and the same goes for the rain. As they say, overwatering a plant is more dangerous than not watering it at all.
In a nutshell, growth is a gradual process and even if it seems or feels like you’re in a difficult time, remember that the seedlings are first buried in the soil before they actually sprout and embark on their gradual journeys to maturity. So take it easy on yourself and surround yourself with the right energy and the right kind of influence.
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Have a lovely rest of the day and week.