Family Traditions

I put in a small garden this year and at least once a day, I go out and gush over the fact that I am growing my own food to feed my family. My PopPop instilled a love for gardening in me at a very young age and I loved to go out into his garden and pick a tomato from the vine, eating it on the spot.

I take Sage out every evening and point things out to her and tell her that things will continue to grow bigger and once they are ripe, we can pick them and eat them. She's been pretty patient to date, but she couldn't take it any longer when we went out this morning. So ... she had fresh peas off of the vine for breakfast. There were only about six or seven pods that were ready to pick and I brought them in a shucked them for her. She gobbled them down and is still running around asking for more.

It is my wish, to instill the same love of gardening into her that my PopPop had instilled in me at such a young age. His garden has been gone for more years than I can count, but I can still close my eyes and see the rows upon rows of produce that he grew. I can still see him meticulously checking each vine and making the decision whether he should leave something for the next day, or pick it now, to make sure that he obtained the perfection that was in each fruit or vegetable. My mouth waters thinking of his tomoatoes.

Memories are a wonderful thing to have. Passing a tradition along to your child/children is even more wonderful. Maybe one day, Sage will be in the garden with her children and have the same type of memories that I have.