Letting Go
© Linda Mazar
I heard a song a few years ago that said something like this:Letting go,
There's nothing in her way now.
Letting go,
There's room enough to fly,
Even though she's spent her whole life waiting,
It's never easy,
Letting go.It is a song about a child growing up and heading out on her own. I looked at my own family situation and realized that, while my own son is only 10 years old, I needed to "let go" a bit more this year when it came to his garden.
My son has had his "own" garden since he turned 5 years old. What this has meant is that he and I would pick out seeds and start them in early spring. I would till and prepare his soil for the season (with a little help from him). We would plan where things would be planted in his garden and plant it together (with mom doing half to three-quarters of the planting). He and I would lay down the soaker hose and mulch the bed together. Although it was "his" garden, mom was very involved in every aspect..
This year things are somewhat different. As he is older, he wanted more control over his garden. Since we recently added another child to our family, I had less time to assist in his garden. We still picked out seeds together, but he started them by himself. I tilled the garden, but he decided where the bean teepee would be placed He also decided where the step-stones would be located and where each seed or plant would be planted. He also mulched his garden on his own. He opted not to use a soaker hose, but instead use a sprinkler to water this year (could this have anything to do with the frog sprinkler that was given to us that he wants in his garden?).
While his independence has made things easier for me, it has been very hard to let go of the control that I had over the design of his garden. I like knowing that the gardens will look nice and tidy. I no longer have control of his garden now. I know he planted 3 entire packs of different types of zucchini seeds (Help! We'll be drowning in zucchini!). He also planted some little pumpkins, scarlet runner beans, sunflowers, zinnias, and marigolds. Whatever else he may have stuck in there, I do not know. It's kind of scary. I have no idea what will pop out where and what it will look like. He has also not heeded my advice and has planted very close together. I think there may have to be some secret thinning soon However, it has been a very good experience for him and he is very proud of having done everything all by himself. Just seeing the pride he takes in his garden bed makes it well worth the possibility that it may end up a wild jungle of plants and ornaments.
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