Sanctuary

In my last post I never told you why my backyard is my sanctuary....

Like I said, after the coffee incident I enthusiastically announced to the kids that we were going outside. Lilly falls over herself to get to the back door along with our two Miniature Schnauzers while Ryan runs to get his shoes. The day is gorgeous. The sun is warm and inviting. The grass is freshly cut.

On my way out I went into the garage to pick up work gloves, a trowel and several bags of freesia bulbs. Ryan saw that I had his gardening gloves too and he asked for them. I helped him with them as we trotted across the backyard. I explained to him that we were going to plant flowers and that I need him to help me dig the holes. By this time we were standing at the edge of the flower bed and I was peering down at the ground realizing that I don't know much about freesia. Ryan has already started digging and I looked back to see that Lilly had taken up residence on the gravel pathway and was inspecting the rocks. Good for her.

I read the package insert and learn the freesia needs to be planted five inches deep. Lucky for me my trowel has inch and centimeter markings. Ryan reluctantly gave me the trowel in exchange for a couple of bulbs. We planted the first package together. I dug the holes, Ryan placed the bulbs in the holes, I straighten them and he covered them with dirt and patted it down. We even made up a silly song to the tune of "Clean It Up" by Laurie Berkner.

The singing must have attracted Lilly to us, because she appeared just in time to help plant the second bag of bulbs. Ryan and I had moved over a couple of feet and Lilly plopped down in the freshly turned dirt that was now covering our first bag. I gave Lilly a beach toy shovel and thankfully she skimmed the top of the soil with it. Once I was convinced she was not going to dig up the bulbs, Ryan and I planted the second bag. I felt the tension created by dirty floors and long lists drifting away. I was enjoying myself and enjoying teaching my children how to plant flowers. I was fully aware that there wasn't a plan and that we were planting the bulbs randomly. It didn't matter. This was about the time I had my epiphany and realized the the back yard and the flower bed can be my sanctuary. When we moved into our house the flowers were beautiful. I know the previous owners did a lot of work planting and caring for them. I managed to take care of them the next summer too, but then I was big, fat and pregnant the next and last year Lilly wasn't a fan of the outdoors. You can probably see where this is going; my garden is in shambles. The Cone Flowers are gone. The Black-Eyed Susan's are too. I did plant several varieties of day lillies last year. They are eight or nine inches tall and right now are the only visible signs of life out there. Oh, it does look like the peony we split last fall survived. The new growth is just starting to spring from the ground.

So, anyway this epiphany--I decided I can plant flowers with Ryan and Lilly in the remaining month or so of spring. It will get us out of the house during the afternoons and it will give me a sense of accomplishment. And you know what else? It is about the only way I can give them a look into my life growing up on a farm. Soil and planting, growing and harvesting are important. I recall running barefoot in fields right after a plow turned them over in the spring. The dirt was cool and had a distinct earthy smell. I don't recall the last time I experienced that and unless I find a nice farmer or someone with a garden they are about to till my kids may never experience it.

I continued playing in the dirt with Ryan and Lilly even after we finished planting our bulbs. I was soaking up the sun and the two of them. Ryan was wearing his gloves and he was insisting that I put mine back on. (City Boy.) I am not much for wearing garden gloves. I have several pairs and I usually start out wearing them, but I end up taking them off almost subconsciously. I believe it is because I want to touch the dirt. I want to get my hands dirty. I want to be reminded if just for a moment how it used to be.

I lingered for a bit longer despite the fact that I knew Rourk should be home soon. Ryan tired of the dirt and went to the fence to talk to our neighbor's children. Lilly on the other hand was still content to sit. She sat there for the longest and I just watched. She'd pick up handfuls of dirt and sprinkle it over her legs. She apparently tasted a little while I wasn't watching because she had the tell-tale signs of it around her mouth. She had dirt in her hair. It was a beautiful sight. She caught me watching her. She gave me a big toothy grin. She then picked up a handful and walked over to present it to me. I let her pour it into my hand and we looked at it together; picking out pieces of mulch and rock until there was nothing left but grit. I showed her how to brush her hands together and then I told her it was "all gone." She accepted this and walked back over to her shovel and dirt pile.

I am not sure my children learned anything from our backyard adventure, but I know I did.