by Lolita Townsend

Created on: August 27, 2008   Last Updated: September 21, 2008

One summer a few years past I decided that a nice way to teach my children while spending quality time together would be to plant a garden. I didn't have a lot of space or time as I was a mother of four children and one of them was a brand new baby. I lived in a nice little apartment in a well maintained complex. Garden space was limited as was the options to what we could grow there.

Being a low income single mother I was not able to spend a lot but was able to purchase some flower and vegetable seeds for us to plant. The dirt was more like clay in the areas where we were planning to plant so I had to start with mixing potting soil with top soil to save money.

The children loved mixing the dirt and pouring it into the bean shaped and squared areas which would later be our family gardens. As they put the seeds into the dirt and questioned how they would grow I could see the excitement and interest growing in them. It warmed my heart to see them working together and laughing as they played in the soft loose dirt.

As time went by we tended to the gardens by watering and weeding every couple of days. Some days the children were uninterested at first as it seemed to them that nothing would ever grow. Then one summer morning I saw a miracle take place right before my eyes. My son came running into the apartment with a grin from ear to ear shouting "It happened mommy, it really did!" I wasn't sure at first what he was talking about but he was happy so I knew that it wasn't a bad thing. He grabbed my hand and urged me to the door then he asked me to wait while he got sissy so she could see.

Together we all stepped out onto the front porch to find that small green leaves had poked through the dirt and life was coming into our gardens. My pleasure came more from the excitement of my children and the beautiful smiles that graced their precious faces. They had sent that their hard work was paying off and that they were able to accomplish anything if they set their mind to it.

I felt at that moment the need to stop and say a prayer of thanks for all that had been given me and all that I had been able to teach including patience to my young children. I also felt the need to pray thanks for my own learning of patience and acceptance of life and the beauty of nature. It seemed as though within a moment my family had found some common ground and love was its foundation. We shared love for God, earth, nature and one another.

In a few weeks the gardens were bursting with blooms of

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