Spring has sprung in the garden! (Though it’s supposed to be 34 degrees in the morning!!!) I’m having a blast.
About mid-February I planted the really early stuff. Carrots, radishes, turnips, along with the usual selection of greens. Collards, leaf lettuce, lots of arugula. Plus, the tops of all the root veg are delicious, too.
If you’ve been around for a while, you may know that, for the last couple of years, I’ve been studying Spring Forest Qigong (chee-gong). This journey started for me years ago when I began to realize that conventional medicine didn’t have all the answers I needed as I tried to deal with chronic joint and muscle pain, allergies to many of the things that might have helped, endless debates about what was really going on, and some miscellaneous challenges like lead and mercury toxicity.
It’s about 3:00 in the afternoon. The Easter traditions have been observed. Our kids are doing the “leavin’ on a jet plane” thing. This Grammy is pretty tired.
It’s been great! A whole week with the Mighty Mini Women! Still pretty mini, but mightier every visit. At 6 and 8, we still have the occasional meltdown. I noticed, though, that their first move is usually saying what they feel or want or need. I’m thrilled for them!
It’s Spring Break and my kids are here. Most of them. Kelly will be here in a couple of days. The girls are taller, even since Christmas!
The little artists are busy. A while back I painted the front closet door and the back of a bookcase in chalkboard paint. Best idea I’ve had in a while!
I never went to kindergarten. I don’t recall ever growing a bean seed in a paper cup at school. (We must have lived somewhere else when it was time for that!) We never had a garden when I was growing up. Somehow, though, I’m fascinated with seeds.
The magic is happening right now in my garden!
Tiny leaves on the grape vines. Muscadines. We had our first real crop last fall.
Chives I thought had died, back with gusto.
The scent of rosemary and thyme hanging in the air, still heavy with last night’s rain.
Sometimes I feel stuck between the things I learned as a nurse and the things I’ve learned in the past several years. Even labels are hard.
Conventional. Western. Real.
Alternative. Eastern. Fringe.
For my purposes at the moment, let’s go with conventional and wholistic.
Whatever the labels, each has to do with balance. Conventional medicine looks primarily to numbers. Sodium and potassium levels. Oxygen and carbon dioxide. Intake and output. Wholistic medicine, on the other hand, thinks in terms of energy. Exercise and rest. Activity and meditation. Blocked and unblocked.
Some of you know that during this past month, I’ve been participating in a 30 day writing challenge called Write Yourself Alive. It’s been great. I’ve met new people. Thought of new things. Tried things I hadn’t tried before. Some have worked for me but, seemingly, not so much for others. Some have worked for others but not quite clicked for me. Some I’ve just missed because there’s been a spot of real life and plumbing sprinkled liberally amidst the rarified realms of poetry and reflection.
