Change in the Air

Posted on 22-Jun-2006 at 13:28

Two years ago, my garden consisted of a single grape tomato plant my mom brought me in a nice big container.  That plant brought a nice harvest of tomatoes, which worked out well since my then-toddler absolutely loved them.  She would eat tomatoes right off the plant (good thing they were organic...no bug sprays or chemical fertilizers on my plants)! 

Last summer I was going through a divorce, and I figured I'd probably have to give up my house fairly soon, so I planted a nice big garden...all in containers.  We had a bell pepper plant, a grape tomato plant, zucchini, peas, green beans, eggplant, and a bunch of other things I can't even remember now!  I tracked how it all grew and relished the thought that even if we had to move, our garden and potential harvest would go with us.

This year, however, I knew the end was near.  Instead of taking the time to plant anything, I put the old plants in the compost and passed on the containers to my best friend and my mom.  I'm still going to have to sell the house, but where I'll live is more up in the air.  (Don't get me wrong, it's for a much more positive reason.  I like the sound of wedding bells!  I'm now selling because I want to be debt-free for this next pathway through my journey of life; plus we'll probably move in a few months anyway!)

Now, having begun this blog, I'm finding a lot more urban and suburban homesteaders here at HomesteadBlogger than I had expected to find.  That's exciting to me.  I'm very "into" making the most of small, organized spaces.  Frankly, I look forward to having an apartment or living on-base just because I make the assumption that our home will be smaller than the house I now live in.  It's half empty anyway, and the maintenance and empty space just feel like such a waste to me!  Thanks to my other forays into suburban homesteading, I now know how much I can do and how much I don't want to do.  A year ago my dream was to sell my house and get a couple of acres and a cabin or manufactured home, another dog, a barn (with a good mouser in it), goats, chickens, and the like.  Now I find myself thinking, thank goodness I didn't do that!  During the past year, even the dog and the outdoor rabbit and a yard that takes up 1/10th of an acre (including the footprint of the house and driveway!) became too much for me.  I couldn't handle it; I didn't want to handle it.  I wanted it to just go away.  I was tired...soooo tired!

Lesson learned: sometimes a single tomato plant is all you need to feel like a fulfilled gardener!  My 'steading consists of being as green as I can, while leading an enjoyable life.  Sometimes dreams are nice to have, but they are a lot less "fun" when you realize how much work they can be.  Better to know in advance and dream of something else before it's too late!

So true...

Posted by HSBFrontPorch on 22-Jun-2006 at 15:01 - Link

As a country singer once said, "Some of God's greatest gifts... are unanswered prayers."
~Nancy

Yes, ma'am!

Posted by melm on 22-Jun-2006 at 15:32 - Link

Garth was right on that one! (That remains one of my favorite songs by him. Wonder if his ex-wife is still homeschooling their kids?)