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Lillies & Lettuce

 

New Shoes & Profound Experiences


I've finally got those expensive, amazing new shoes that my Mom has been promising me since my last birthday. They came at the cost of more than a little embarrassment (note to shoe shop owners: hiring "cute" college boys may be a good move for delivering sells to any college girl that catches their eye, but it can be intimidating to the less interested folk) but they are oh so good shoes. This is the beginning of quite the relationship - I realize what they mean by "love at first sight." Admittedly, I passed this pair up once or twice for some cuter ones with buckles and stitching, but eventually arrived back to it for its "staple" soles and narrow design. I was biased towards the poor pair at first, wanting a cuter set (how callous of me) but as soon as I tried them on... "Its like I've known you forever, babeh."

Anyone who knows me will attest to the fact that I am not a clothes/shoes/material possessions girl (except when it comes to books and food) - but though my new shoes and I have only had a blissful hour together I'm ready to sing praises about the way the thick cushions caress the soles of your feet and the tender support offered by the heel. They may be plain and simple, but I have found the perfect match... for my feet.

"Just going to go garden for a minute..."
I feel like I reached a milestone last night. August, for those of you who don't know, is the worst month to be a Missourian. Heat and humidity forces itself into every corner and cranny, including the empty space between your ears, making everyone cranky, hot, sweaty, and tired. The past few years this has been the time of year where my feeble attempts at gardening die. I would poke a nose out of our air-conditioned-to-the-state-of-an-igloo house and decided that the flowers would have to fare on their own, I wasn't nuts enough to go outside!

Thankfully, things have changed. As I set up some make-shift trellises for my Happy Cherry Tomato Plant, sweat literally falling in waves into my eyes, it dawned on me that I've come a long way from the feeble, timid, very ignorant (compared to now!) gardener of yester-year. Anyone who would cast their eyes over my current garden (99.8% weeds, one Volunteer Happy Cherry Tomato Plant, five bean plants, four half-dead or dead tomato plants, and some scraggly cucumbers) would probably raise both eyebrows and snort in disbelief. But trust me. Things have changed! I think one of the hardest transitions for the molly-coddled, milk-comes-from-the-grocery-store city kid turned wanna be gardener to undergo is to be able to stroll out into their garden (however, erm, dainty it may be) and mindlessly set to work, being able to ignore such annoyances as mosquitoes, heat, and - most importantly - sweat.

Oh yeah. Its sort of like getting caught in the rain-storm without an umbrella. Once you get to a certain point of "wet" you stop caring about the rain at all anymore. Especially when you know you have a nice, hot shower coming and these clothes were going straight into the laundry anyway.

And so, it was as I dug into a pile of stinks-as-bad-as-manure mulch to tenderly tuck between my bean plants, that something deep and profound clicked. I was covered in sweat. I could feel the bites from some friendly chiggers on my legs. My clothes stank. And I was happy.

There. I think the most important aspect of being prepared for the sort of life I want has finally, somehow, settled into place. Acceptance of the cost of some fresh organic tomatoes? Love of doing hard, rewarding work? I'm not sure, but I know for certain I've moved into some important stage of life and gardening... and I'm happy to be there.

 

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