I've updated this post with some old photos I found. Couldn't find a working scanner ('hole nuther story) so I decided to just take pictures of the pictures. Not ideal, but wanted to share them anyway.
Welcome to the March Carnival of Natural Parenting: Vintage green!
This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama. This month we're writing about being green — both how green we were when we were young and how green our kids are today. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.
Lots and lots of tomatoes.
I've never really liked tomatoes. Still don't, actually (unless they are fresh and firm and sweet). My mom loved them so much she would pick one right off the vine and eat it like an apple.
But, I digress. My mom homeschooled us in my younger years, and we'd often spend our mornings out in the backyard working the garden. She'd let Abby run around without a diaper to help clear up any diaper rash. Meanwhile, my sister Hilary and I would be sweating in the dry summer sun, hoeing beans, coaxing the squash, picking tomatoes and washing chard. My mom did a lot of things "from scratch." She baked bread, made her own spaghetti sauce, did all her baking from scratch. She hung our clothes out on the line. We carted bath water from the house out to the garden (this was during the water-rationing drought days). We made compost. We canned the summer bounty.
I was up at my mother's house this weekend and while we were doing dishes together, I asked her why she did all these things. Was it because she was trying to be earth-friendly? Economical? "No," she replied, "I just love doing things that way. You know how you like hot showers? Hanging clothes out on the line is like that for me."
Our backyard clothesline.
My sister Hilary would hang upside down by her knees and do all sorts of fancy tricks on it.
My sister Hilary would hang upside down by her knees and do all sorts of fancy tricks on it.
Gardening is like that for my mom, too. Today, she lives up in the Southern California mountains and nurses along her wild plants and gardens in the post-fire landscape, spending many long and hot hours under the sun. It is her escape, her calm, and one of her dearest life's pursuits.
I did not inherit her green thumb. I've always joked that nurseries were invented for people like me who bring home a plant and have to replace it four weeks later, after it's died. I have to admit, though, that I've been deeply inspired lately about the food I eat, how it's grown, and where it comes from. I've read a few books where the author's love of food and its relationship to the earth has made me realize that I want my food to be more than plastic-tasting, shrink-wrapped "nutrition," grown and sold under fluorescent lighting. I have realized that I don't want to lose my connection to good, brown earth and the life cycle that brings plants up from seeds, to plants, to our table, back to earth.
So, thank you, Mom, for teaching me how to work a garden. I might be biting off more than I can chew, but perhaps I shall give my patio garden another swing this year. Instead of just drought-resistant [read, Molly-resistant] plants, though, maybe I'll throw in a few vegetables for our table.
Maybe a tomato, or two.
Visit Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama to find out how you can participate in the next Carnival of Natural Parenting!Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants.
(This list will be updated March 9 with all the carnival links.)
- My Momma Was a Hippie — Jessica at This is Worthwhile is continuing her Earth Momma mother's way of honoring nature by taking her child outside every day. (@tisworthwhile)
- Mom Did Know Best, About Diapers at Least — Guavalicious at They Are So Cute When They Are Sleeping has a dirty secret about cloth diapers: They're easy. (@guavalicious)
- The Force that Drives the Water Through the Rocks — Shana at Tales of Minor Interest remembers her first spiritual connection with nature, granted to her through her father's care for the spirits of the earth.
- Confessions of a Cabbage Patch Kid — Joni Rae at Tales of a Kitchen Witch Momma learned about landfills and recycling through gardening. (@kitchenwitch)
- Seeing My Grandmother Through Green Colored Lenses — Michelle at Seeking Mother was raised by a grandmother who wouldn't let anyone throw out used clothing — ever — and who believed baths were water enough for two or more people at least. (@seekingmother)
- Through Green Tinted Glasses — Thomasin at Propson Palingenesis realized her family didn't so much choose green as it chose them, since not being green would have cost a lot more.
- Green or Die! — NavelgazingBajan at Navelgazing remembers berating her family for not turning off the faucets — and notes that her efforts to save the planet for another 20 years must have worked.
- Natural Parenting Carnival: Green Living — Sarah at Natural Parenting is doing more to make her children's generation green than what she had as a child.
- Natural Parenting Carnival: Vintage Green — pchanner at A Mom's Fresh Start used to fill her own water bottles from a spring — before doing so was cool. (@pchanner)
- Getting Dirty — Molly at Molly's Place is inspired by her mother's camaraderie with nature. She's going to get back in touch with the real food cycle, as opposed to the "shrink-wrapped nutrition" you can buy. (@KPMolly)
- My Vintage Green Raincoat — Mama at Maman A Droit is wearing her brother's bright green raincoat — 16 years later! (@MamanADroit)
- Vintage Green — Darcel at Mahogany Way hasn't realized it yet, but she is slowly turning into her parents. ;) (@MahoganyWayMama)
- Vintage Green — mrs green at littlegreenblog reminds us that children can be green simply by being kids. (@myzerowaste)
- March Carnival of Natural Parenting: Vintage Green — Lauren at Hobo Mama was eco-chic before it was en vogue. (@Hobo_Mama)
- Growing Up Green — Chrystal at Happy Mothering honed her green instinct from an early age. (@HappyMothering)
- greener pastures — The Grumbles at Grumbles and Grunts has a list of ways she's transitioning from green living as a novelty to green living as a lifestyle. (@thegrumbles)
- Vintage Green: The Hot Water Tank Is Not Sexy — Zoey at Good Goog had to go green when moss started growing around her feet. (@zoeyspeak)
- We Walked Softly — Starr at Earth Mama wrote a beautiful post about how her parents instilled a love of and respect for Earth and nature in her, and how she is passing that gift on to her own children.
- Save the Mermaids! — CurlyMonkey is learning from her daughter how to keep the mermaids happy. (@curlymonkey_)
- March Carnival of Natural Parenting: Vintage Green — Dionna at Code Name: Mama sees glimpses of her mother's greenness frugality in her own life - but she draws the line at pantyhose soap. (@CodeNameMama)
- I Thought I Made Them Green, But Really They Made Me — Melodie at Breastfeeding Moms Unite! thought she made her parents green — until she took a closer look. (@bfmom)
- A Culture of Less — Alison at BluebirdMama explained why homebirth is the green childbirth choice. I love this thought! (@childbearing)
- 5 Ways to Embarrass Your Children While Going Green — Acacia at Be Present Mama shares some of the embarrassing things her parents did to her in the name of being eco-conscious.
- Ending Is Better than Mending? — Paige at Baby Dust Diaries is teaching us how to darn socks armed only with a light bulb. (@babydust)
- There and Back Again: A Green Girl's Tale — Lactating Girl offers a gentle reminder that certain eco-conscious practices shouldn't be "ideals," but realities. (@LactatingGirl)
18 comments:
I too have a "black thumb". Thank god for the farmers market and CSAs because my own attempts at urban farming have failed miserably. I actually managed to kill rosemary in South Texas where it grows as a weed.
I love that your mother just liked doing things that way! She would have made a first-class pioneer woman.
I will encourage you in your gardening. I find that growing more things makes it easier to view what dies as an "experiment" than a "failure." :) (I have lots of "experiments"!) This year I'm growing 30-something veggie types from seed. Who knows what I was thinking, but it will be fun!
P.S. I don't like tomatoes raw, either, even though I like them in mixed-up form (salsa, ketchup, sauce, etc.). People like to say I'm a hypocrite because of this, but they are wrong. They taste different!
I have a black thumb, too! lol That's why I let my husband do all the yard work! But really, like your mother, I love doing things this way...it just makes you feel good to be so involved with your own home. So maybe I'll try to help a bit more in the garden this year. :)
I am a homeschool alumnus too:-)
I want to meet your mama she sounds fantastic - just exactly the way I want to be, a gentle walker just because it feels right to do so.
Lovely post, thank you!
Beautiful post. Again another thing I forgot we did growing up - hanging clothes on the line. The dryer was only ever in use in the winter and no one questioned this - ever! Funny how I forgot so many of these things writing my post. I almost feel like I could do it over!
What a great post! My father in law is a fantastic gardener and almost feeds their entire church with his tomatoes, cucumbers and beans. Me? I can't grow herbs on the window sill. *sigh*
Wonderful post! I also want to discover my green thumb although my parents didn't have one so I have to start from scratch so to speak. The idea of eating something I grew from the earth is so primal and spiritual to me - I really want to experience that.
I liked this a lot. Very nicely written and I agree with your mother about the satisfaction you can get from doing things that way.
I am working on being a better gardener. Still learning. I hope you blog your attempts and I wish you luck.
I really enjoyed this post. Our legacies are definitely (for better or worse) hanging out in our memories, waiting to be expressed if we get the inkling to let them come out.
I cannot grow a plant worth anything and my mother has always had lush gardens and has spouted off the latin names for things to me. I don't know why I never got into the gardening myself. But I do sorely wish I had her skills.
My husband and I are starting our first official food garden this year. I'll send your patio positive green vibes right along with the vibes I'll be sending to me own (possibly-doomed) plants!
@Kate - we are kindred spirits, for sure! The only reason my rosemary plant is still half-alive is that it's planted right next to a sprinkler head that our HOA turns on once a month or so.
@HoboMama - My mom IS a first-class pioneer woman. I'll have to write more about her sometime. She's amazing. And I like "experiment" - gonna use that, for sure!
@LisaC - it's all about balance, right? I say, don't upset a good thing and let your husband shine in the garden. :)
@Earth Mama - homeschool rocks! "fist-bump" :)
@Melodie - our homeowner's association frowns upon clothes hung outside on the patio. Interesting commentary on society, isn't it?
@Sarah - my husband says that some people are meant to be farmers, and other people are meant to buy food from the farmers. He places himself squarely in the second category!
@Paige - it does seem spiritual, doesn't it? I agree. That's going to be part of my "mantra" to keep myself going. :)
@Bluebird Mama - see, now you're going to have to keep me accountable, huh? I can't back out now....darn! (just kidding) (well, sort of)
@Thomasin - blog your progress! We'll root each other on! (ooh, bad pun! snort, snort, hee hee)
I am also terrible at keeping plants alive.I do however long for a clothes line. I don't have the space for one currently but hopefully will one day.
Love the photos! I do that taking-pictures-of-pictures thing, too. We have an old scanner, but I don't know if it even works anymore and I'm too lazy to find out. :)
Molly--What a nice post. Really, you are too kind. It proves one thing; that as parents we rarely know what our children are thinking. I am well aware of your gardening aplomb, or lack thereof. I have two suggestions: 1)SOMEBODY said, "The most important thing you can put in your garden is yourself." Visit it every day. Pretend you are Eden on one of your walks. LOOK at it. NOTICE things. You will fall in love with it. 2) Try water.
Oh, Mom, you made me laugh out loud! :)
So, when are you coming down to help me get it started? [wink, wink]
I'm doing my own garden for the first time this year and I hope I can get past my lack of green thumb. Hopefully I'll get past it in time to teach Peanut like your mom did for you.
Oh god, I am a plant killer. I try, I really do, but... jinxed. I'm going to give an herb garden and some tomatoes a go this year. I think that's the best I can hope for.
I have grown to like tomatoes. We're going to grow our own someday when we are able to have our own garden.
Your mother sounds like an amazing woman and I am sure that some of her gifts with the earth are just waiting inside you. Give your garden another try. Spend some time with your plants and tell them your concerns about your abilities. I truly believe that plants have spirits and that they respond to us in distinct ways. Just lay it all out there with them and see what happens. You've given us such beautiful and distinct images of your childhood. It sound so rich in experience and pleasure. A home full of girls making their way. Great post.
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