Looking Back and Up While Digging

Treasures come in a mighty variety of forms which makes the old proverb ‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder’ more true than just a platitude. On any given day, anyone’s definition of treasure can change any number of times, for example: the delphinium I bought at lunch today is a sweet, chubby, beautiful blue plant which I can enjoy for years to come, but also the old wire garden gate I liberated from an abandoned backyard is an absolute treasure. It reminds me of the wonderful yard of Mr. Clem Watkins in Alturas, California. But that’s another story. This gate is in my yard and getting freshened up with a new coat of green spray paint before being hung to guard a new garden. I have a little brass sign, a gift from Dustin and Samantha years ago, that says “Mom’s Garden” to hang on the gate so that no one will question who’s in charge of the treasured space within the picket fence.

Inside the garden is a pink crepe poppy next to a pink iris which was a gift from a treasured auntie, and near those are the old Tonka trucks I found at a yard sale. Once the sandbox is finished, I think those beat up, rusty old trucks will be pretty darned important to a set of small Sanderses.

So considering treasures then, is it better to have a few selected precious things or many? Again, depends on the day and the person, but my personal opinion is that there is just so much to appreciate and adore that I want to squeeze them all in at once and slather love around everywhere. I want to have a wealth of good weather and a cache of happy grandchildren. I want to have prized dirt in my garden and jewels of vegetables and I really want and need to have a fortune in flowers and family.

I’m just saying the same things that any other gardener/grammy/mama would wish for and cherish because the greatest treasure of all is to teach the young ones around us an appreciation for Mother Earth. Satisfaction runs deeply in my soul when I hear my children discuss the huge garden to be planted at Kyle and Sarah’s, and to answer questions of fledgling gardeners who are just now getting a plot of land and see the possibilities for the very first time.

And then there’s Sara, our beautiful and talented Freckled FarmGirl who has embraced the Mother with an instinctive knowledge of protection and appreciation. Sara has elevated her love of the dirt to become a Master Gardener, and continues to grow through teaching her skills to novices. She is pursuing a full life of knowing her place in the sun and with the soil, blessed by water and sown with seeds to hold close the Mother and the greatest gift. She is truly a Gaia Goddess (and will cringe at that description, I’m sure.) She knows her place of sanctuary from which she draws her greatest strength, and in Sara and her love of Earth, I see a treasure beyond description.

Happy Bearthday to my treasured daughter, wished for you from all the love of your Mothers~