He made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. #garden
Failure.
Sometime we feel as if we have failed, even though it might just be a change of life phase.
It became increasingly clear to me that I need to stop trying to have my large garden. I couldn’t give it all the attention it needed and I couldn’t afford to pay someone to help.
So I removed the fence posts and reduced the size of my enclosure to a fourth of the original size.
Fail.
But I thought if I somehow could get this mini-me garden planted on my own that would be a minor hurrah.
I borrow a friend’s tiller.
A killer tiller.
I was excited to learn how to use one. Even though this was a much smaller garden than I had before, it would be my garden. No help from anyone else.
I got behind the beast and turned it on.
It bucked and rolled and I tried to get it under control.
I was so busy trying to figure out how to contain this bouncing rotor that I didn’t notice a man on the other side of the fence.
“You need some help with that?”
“No. I’m fine,” I answered. I didn’t know if I was fine but I wanted to do this myself.
So I continued to jerk and lurch behind the machine all the while this person watched.
“I can do that for you.”
“No. I’m fine really. I want to learn how to do this.”
He stood there. You know how annoying it is when someone is watching you do something you can’t really do.
This gentleman who rode up on a bike decided to take matters into his own hands. He came on inside the fence and showed me how to control the tiller. Under his manhandling the ground was breaking up.
He made me an offer to do the job that I couldn’t refuse.
I gave Michael the reins of the tiller and let him have at it.
I went and bought more plants.
Spinach, collards, turnip greens, broccoli, romaine lettuce and cabbage.
After Micheal pocketed his earning and rode off into the hot afternoon, I got in there and finished tilling a bit myself. Just to get the hang of it.
Then I planted all my new babies. That was a lot of work. But not nearly what it would have been if Michael hadn’t insisted I pay him to till the yard.
I wanted to do this garden myself.
I did.
Most of it anyway.
I finally got my fall garden planted.
Maybe not how I had planned it — but it got done none the less.
I’m learning to let go.
That turning loose of expectations is not a sin.
I have a much smaller garden. I did not till that garden.
Romaine lettuce knowth no difference.
What about you? Any fall gardens out there?
