I blamed myself for his pickiness. I am a picky eater and his dad is just as bad as I am… if not worse. With our diets being high fat, high calorie, and low in nutrients, something had to give. I went out and bought a “guaranteed to grow” sunflower, lavender, and watermelon (such a great starter, great cause, and you can buy them here). I felt unstoppable!
Naturally, I decided to go full throttle with the idea that I am in fact a gardener, and I went on my rampage. I found myself buying a zucchini plant, a raspberry bush, then a little filler flower for Mark. I added rainbow carrots and blackberries to my collection. Then came the blueberries, green beans, more zucchini, and a pumpkin, too. My sunflower grew so tall, it was perfect… until the wind took it. It became my very first victim. Then the green beans, the pumpkin, the blackberries, and the rainbow carrots. I didn’t inherit my mother’s green thumb. In fact, I am pretty sure I am known around the garden center as the Grim Reaper… but for plants.
Mark watched as I repotted some plants into larger containers. He grabbed his little shovel from his own gardening kit I bought him and started helping me transfer soil from the bag to the container. He had such a big smile on his face the entire time and kept asking to do it again and again. As I purchased more plants, he knew what we needed to do, and he would run outside, grab his shovel and sit down next to me to help.
His little gardening kit came with a watering can, perfect for his little hands. He watched as I used the small watering can to water the garden. Soon I found myself managing the hose while he walked back and forth from the plants to me, just refilling his watering can. We’ve found time to sit down and talk about each plant, and I’ve bought the same products we are growing in our garden so that he will see what it will look like when it’s done growing (if we do it right anyhow).
More importantly, gardening has also allowed Mark and I to bond more. It’s given me the opportunity to teach my son how to grow his own food and know where his food comes from. I’ve found that Mark will be more adventurous and less picky with food if he takes part in making it. We do this with smoothies, lunches, and dinner, too! I am hoping that gardening and growing our own food will keep him wanting to try new tastes and textures. He looks forward to making healthy and nutrient-dense smoothies with me every day. He also runs to the back door every morning and evening to help me water the garden, rotate plants and prepare for the day ahead.
For me, it is more than just eating healthier. I want to instill good eating habits in my son. I want him to feel those same feelings of self-empowerment, self-reliance, and self- sustainability. I want him to have the knowledge to make his own garden someday if he wants to. I want him to make choices that will benefit his health and the health of his own family someday. Most of all, if all of this falls through, and I kill all of the plants, or he chooses not to continue gardening as he gets older, I want him to have the memories of us learning something new together. I want to be a good example for him, and I want him to know that I am doing my best and broadening my own horizons for him.
I love this! I want to do the same for my boys!