> Prayer of a Gardening Mother > By Debbie Farmer > > Dear God, give me the strength to grow a garden. > Give me the perseverance to find a portion of dirt in > my backyard that's free from old popsicle sticks and sand > toys, out of range of the swing set, and not used as a > tricycle parking lot or a soccer field. > Give me the courage to face the fact that the crate of > bulbs that took six weeks to be delivered and three hours > of backbreaking labor to plant, can be dug up in five > minutes by a two-year-old with a spoon. > Guide me through the backyard over plastic toys, > irrigation systems and wire mesh to unravel the dog from > the watering hose for the fifteenth time. > Help me to accept that everything in my garden is > either expensive, high maintenance or unpronounceable, and > the only thing that looks the same as it did in the mail- > order catalog is the dirt. > Grant me patience when my daughter waters all of the > bulbs with apple juice because "they look thirsty." > Give me the strength to remain silent when my husband > puts pans of beer throughout the garden to get rid of the > snails. > In your infinite wisdom, show me how to turn off the > drip irrigation system that has been on since sometime in > mid-March. > Grant me serenity when my son presents me with a > bouquet of freshly pulled daffodils crammed into an old > plastic sand bucket - and the ability to smile when he > tries to put them back. > Comfort me when all of the beer pans in the garden are > empty - and the dog is staggering around the backyard > trying to do the limbo with the low branches on the apple > tree. > And if I ask too much, God, just give me the foresight > to know that, no matter what I do, by the end of summer the > flowers will be run over by plastic roller skates, the > gardening stakes will be used for goal posts, and the > fertile soil will, once again, be filled with old popsicle > sticks and sand toys - and I wouldn't have it any other > way. > .·:*´¨`*:·..·:*´¨`*:·. *: * Richiele * * *·. .·* `*·-:¦:-*´ ³´`*:»§«:*´`³