Thirty days of thanksgiving-Day 15

Today I am grateful for my yard. My garden is my go to place to bring back my sanity. I go out and I touch the dirt and I dig in it.... I mow the grass and pull back the weeds.... and I find myself again. I thank every plant as I tend it... and I love those plants nearly as much as I love my girls or my dogs. I look forward to the day I can get back into the garden all winter long.
I am so happy to have a connection to the earth. I love the sun shining on me. I adore the sweat pouring off of me. I am overjoyed when I get my hands into the dirt: whether it be cool and damp or warm and dry. The smell of tomatoes relaxes me. I don't care if it is flowers or vegetables or fruit: working with the plants makes me so happy.
For years I wanted to garden and felt that I couldn't. Too much to do... too many other things to take care of. I was daunted... truly intimidated by the idea of gardening. What if I did something wrong? What if my garden didn't grow? Don't ask me what changed. I don't fully know. But a few years ago I thought well "If I never TRY I never succeed." Truth is I never fail if I don't try either.... but then I never get the CHANCE to succeed.
So I jumped in. And the first year wasn't stellar... but I was hooked. It has gotten better each year. And I have tons of ideas for next year. As I cleared the garden for the winter today there was a tug of sadness that there are months until I can plant again.... but that thrill of working with the land was there. The sun and the sweat and the dirt.... and there was a wonderful sense of working with the land and recognizing the passage of seasons and the purpose of those seasons. I am so very grateful that I can get out in the garden... and that it is so much nicer than a chore for me.