sharing the addiction

"An addiction to gardening is not all bad when you consider all the other choices in life."
quote / saying by Cora Lea Bell

Well.. after a rough Cinco De Mayo, I found it in myself to take a little stroll to the garden to check on the children, wish them a happy holiday and hope for some progress.  Before leaving my house, I extended the offer to my roommates, asking if they wanted to join, and to my surprise two decided to accompany me.  Until this moment of them actually seeing the garden, I think they have been a little questionable of where I have been spending my time daily.  “Ohh.. surrrre, you’re going to the garrrrdennn..” they will always say in a sarcastic tone… “YES guys!  I am actually going to the garden!”  I think somewhere between their disbelief and their assumptions that I could just never be a gardener, they found pleasure in teasing me and making accusations of where I was really spending my time… SHEEESH. So anyway, this was a great opportunity to share something with them that has consumed a large part of the end of my senior year and something that I plan to continue doing this summer and next year and even when I get a house of my own later in life!  As we reached the plot, I could tell by the look on their faces that they were a tad bit disappointed.  I don’t blame them.  I’m sure they were expecting to see tons of vegetables and a colorful array of flowers.  I was the exact same way, until I began to understand the long process and appreciate the simplicity that defines the garden.  I sat down and pulled out my note pad and jotted down a few notes as my roommates sat next to me.  Before we knew it, we had easily spent an hour at the garden just talking about our weekend, etc.  Not too much was brought up about the actual garden itself other then the seeds and what was being planted, but the time that was spent with my roommates was extremely genuine and outside of a concealed indoor setting that gave me a lot more appreciation for the garden as a social setting.  Yes, they still do not know the difference between a tomato plant and sunflower seed (sad, I know) but I got them OUTSIDE.. and to the garden to begin to appreciate the outdoors, instead of the mall or the movie theatre.  Today, the garden showed me how wonderful of a place it can be to share with others that you care about.  I think about my parents who spend hours together gardening and find that a large basis of their relationship falls on commonalities and passions for hobbies.  I think that the garden, or any outdoor setting in general is a really good place for people to connect, leaving all the exterior stresses that the inside offers behind.  So, if I can become addicted to gardening, well.. that is just fine.. its better then becoming an impulse shopper, alcoholic or extreme couponer!