Life lessons from the garden

We pulled into the driveway, returning home from vacation. Of course, it's always bittersweet, but we were ready to get off the road and back in our own space, and I couldn't wait to see how my tiny little garden was doing. I did my research before leaving, and we rigged up a watering system to ensure the plants were getting what they needed. I figured we did everything we could, so we should return to a thriving garden or at the least a growing one.

I stepped out of the truck only to see our little garden hanging by a thread or very wimpy stem.

I felt so defeated and honestly flat-out annoyed.

I did my research; we set ourselves up for success, so we thought... So, why did the opposite of what we planned for happen?!

The simple answer is..... "that's just life!"

Many times we think we have it figured out. We feel we've researched and planned enough to know what we are doing, but things happen, and things often do not go the way we expect them to.

Skip to about a week later...

I took some time to be annoyed (about a day or two). But then I decided I wasn't going to give up. So, I did more research and discovered that I have almost no clue what I'm doing yet (did I mention this is my first year planting in a new area?), and I got to work trying to help the little plants to keep growing.

A few days after that, while washing dishes, I had an epiphany (as one does while doing dishes). My garden experience (or lack thereof) taught me some very important life lessons.

I know that sounds a bit dramatic, but I was in a very reflective mood.

• Keep it simple

  • Researching and planning are great, but this can cause you to overachieve and sometimes overthink (trust me, I'm a pro at it...overthinking, not overachieving). Take a step back and ask yourself how I can make this more simple.

    If I had done this, I probably wouldn't have added the sometimes tricky lavender to our group before leaving for vacation.

• Go with the flow and adjust.

  • Planning is great, but when things don't work out like you planned (and often they won't), you have to be okay going with the flow and adjusting. Honestly can be pretty fun even for the over-thinkers out there... think of it as a learning experience.

• Wait & see

  • Even when we want so badly to fix something right away, sometimes it's just best to wait and see. Give yourself, and whatever the situation is, a little bit.

    After doing a bit of pruning, I wanted to do more to help, but I waited, and sure enough... things were starting to look better. I just needed to give it a little bit.

• Everything has its place and season.

  • The most cheesy lesson you can learn from a garden, but it's true. Everything has its time and place. Things come and go, wither and grow strong. Enjoy it and move now when it's time.

• Use your time wisely.

  • This is one of my biggest struggles. Like I said before, I overthink sometimes. The overthinking is worse when it comes to plans and goals. It's like I have so much I want to do, but a lot goes into each thing that I get overwhelmed with the to-do list and end up distracting myself with any and everything else. You have to use your time wisely. Don't get stuck in the planning; get up and get busy. At the same time, don't jump in without giving any thought whatsoever because you may waste your time and money if it's not the right time.

A lot has come out of my tiny little garden.... not many of them are edible but still useful. I know I have way more to learn, and I'm sure my small garden will remind me of more lessons, so for now, I guess it's To be continued...