If Children Were Seedlings

June 5, 2013

If children were seedlings I’d spend all day in the sun with them, humming some little songs, digging and using a watering can.

I’d study up on how to properly raise each type of them, do some sketches beforehand, take books out from the library, read up on how things are done.

I’d be tirelessly creative.

I’d grow way too many of them, all different varieties, and take a particular interest in the wild and unruly ones, how oddly they grow and shape themselves. I’d marvel at the strange places they’d come from. I’d dream about them.

I’d always wear a sunhat when I was around them, muddy boots, a t-shirt with a pocket in it, and canvas pants.

I’d spend way too much time coddling them until they began to wilt and grow brown under my care, and then I’d take particular joy in leaving them completely alone for a while and marvel at how well they would do without me.

I’d never worry too much if one ended up in an unexpected place, if some unusual flower burst forth, something completely mysterious and unidentifiable. The surprises are half the fun in the garden – the mistakes as delightful as anything.

If children were seedlings I’d never worry too much because there are always more springs and summers to try it again. I’d just hang up my sunhat, wipe the dirt from my forehead, scrub well under my fingernails and sink into a warm bath.

Take your boots off before you come in here!

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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }

Nan Solow

Sweet and poignant. Life would be so much easier if we could just plant, water, pluck a few weeds, and have the confidence that our children would reach for the sun.

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Margaret Gilfoyle

Oh so sweet and beautiful.

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Gigi

Is your life as perfect as it looks?

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Jennifer Solow

No. I’m a fiction writer. I filter, sift, romanticize, idealize and dramatize. And I’m not above retouching. 🙂

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Nan Solow

This one made me cry. I can’t imagine a more perfect posting. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be able to fix all problems with a little water from the watering can, a little song hummed while digging, and a warm soothing bath after the work was done? But then plants don’t last very long, their fruits and colors fading as the seasons move toward fall. Children continue to change throughout their long lives until they have reached their full bloom as adults.

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