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It seemed like the perfect plan. The day was warm and sunny, I was itching to get some seeds in the dirt, and my sons were in need of some outdoor fun. So I loaded up my gardening supplies, drug out some outside toys, and we headed outside.

My first mistake was thinking that my sons would be happy playing with their own toys. I should have anticipated that my adult "toys" would be much more interesting for them. My shovel was repeatedly carted off, my seed packets were shooken and rattled, and my little helpers learned how to turn on the water which sprayed out of the hose and soaked me from head to toe.

My second mistake was underestimating the allure of dirt and bugs to boys. I think I spent more time putting the dirt back into my garden than I did actually planting my seeds. Every time I turned my back my oldest would scoop out dirt with his toy shovel and distribute it across the walkway, on the slide, and in my hair. Of course I had to turn my back often to stay on top of my youngest who had decided that bugs crawling up from the freshly tilled earth might make tasty snacks. Back and forth I went, trying to stop the oldest from digging up all my hard work and trying to stop my youngest from eating anything with legs.

I spent a solid two hours outside "working". In all of that time I seceded in turning two small patches and planting two tomato plants. The majority of my time was spent herding my two little boys around. I choose to call it a learning experience for all of us. I learned that gardening takes two adults when there are children involved, and they learned that mom can jump pretty high in the air when you drop a worm down her shirt.

Learn more about this author, Summer Minor.
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