Grandma's Garden: News from a Novice Gardener

I have been at this for two “summer”seasons. I ask myself, “when will I feel that I have moved beyond the novice stage?” Does it matter? Probably not. I am learning, reading and hearing  that no matter how experienced you are, you always: encounter diseases, fight with the pests, and have successful and unsuccessful harvests. Some veggies will be a hit one year, and a flop the next. There is no way to predict! Doubt is a constant. Did I plant it at the right time? Was it too hot or too cold? Why didn’t it germinate? Did the birds eat the seed; were the seeds old; how long do I wait before I plant more seed? What disease is this? Is this insect good or bad? Should I kill it? Why isn't my healthy squash plant producing fruit? I see all the bees on it. And the list goes on…..When will I feel confident about my garden abilities and consider myself a seasoned gardener? That day may be difficult to reach because each season I add a new complexity to the task! I have experimented with grow bags, containers, veggie specific garden plots, shade tolerance, and saving and growing my own seeds! This year I have planted my first “Fall Garden,” and will be experimenting with cold covers to extend the season. I must admit, a year ago I really did not understand the difference between cool and warm weather season crops or that there were 3 garden seasons! (technically you can garden in winter but that would be a chore!). What I will say is this; There is JOY in gardening. I wake up each morning wondering what I will discover and contemplating what will be added to our dinner plate. In fact, I can CONFIDENTLY say I doubt a day has gone by since April that something has not made its way to our plates! It could be a simple sprig of thyme in our stew, to mint in our water to a full garden meal of gazpacho with a roasted eggplant and sautéed chard! Thank you Garden! Thank you Earth!

A Day in the Life of Grandma: Anti-Racist Baby

Sadie was observant, interested, and as always, curious, during my first reading of Anti-Racist Baby by Ibram X. Kendi. This is a book that hopefully, with each read and as Sadie matures will spark more questions and observations. We looked together at the beautiful picture of a bunch of neighbors of different ages, races and ethnicities. I pointed out the different skin colors, hair color and textures as well as how unique everyone’s eyes were. We reinforced 1 Open your eyes to all skin colors. On another page there are five babies of different races and ethnicities, most likely around 8-10 months old, sitting and interacting on a blanket. Before COVID Sadie and I would go to the library once or twice a week. This is exactly what it was like! A lot of different people, caregivers of all races and ages (Hats off to the Grandmas!) together with a mix of wonderful babies and toddlers all there with a shared purpose, to expose our little ones to early literacy skills and age appropriate social experiences. “Remember when we used to go to the library Sadie? It was just like this.” “Yes, Grandma”, Sadie agreed. The library is a wonderful way to reinforce step number 5 Celebrate all our differences. About to finish the book, we landed on 8 Grow to be an antiracist where a group of young adult friends were all sitting on a couch together. Before I read the page Sadie blurts out, “Look, they all have different eyes.” Now that was a successful first reading of Antiracist Baby to my 2 1⁄2-year-old Granddaughter!

 

A Day in the Life of Grandma: Role reversal for sure!

Taking care of a grandchild is a mix of entertaining, teaching, cleaning and playing! Now that Sadie is 2 ½ there has been a definite role reversal! Sadie is now the entertainer and I am entertained! Today’s production was a hoot. She used her “phone” quite a bit. She was talking away with her phone at her ear and then all of a sudden it was sideways in front of her eyes. “What are you doing Sadie?”, “I am taking a picture,” she says. Soon after that all of her dolls and stuffed animals were on the couch as Grandma sang Five little monkey’s Jumping on the Bed. One by one, they “fell” off the bed as Sadie called the Doctor (and the Dr. said…). When lunch time came around Sadie pulled out her two picnic baskets, named all of her food items, borrowed her little sister's burp cloth to set up her picnic blanket, evenly distributed the pizza, and then sang a song to invite her mother and me to the picnic. Finally, nap time came around, but Sadie wasn’t tired. She picked out 12 books to pile in her bed and spent the next two hours reading and singing as I snuggled with her little sister. Little did Sadie know that Laila and I were treated to a full-on sing and read aloud through the baby monitor.  The ABC song, Skip to my Lou, and Ring Around the Rosie were part of the repertoire. Nap time was officially over and Sadie decided it was time to search the house for bugs. She went back and forth between her binoculars and the magnifying glass to see which one worked better. 

Official babysitting begins next week as my daughter-in-law goes back to work. This role reversal came at the perfect time! I now must entertain 3-month-old Laila as Sadie entertains me. Wow, what a wonderful show it will be!