Jeffrey C. Long

“My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made while learning to see things from the plant’s point of view.” -H. Fred Ale

I have had fantasies about myself as a gardener. I went through this simple living phase where I thought we’d live off the land… have a garden, chickens, drink goat’s milk. Then babies kept coming and coming, and I had to work, and then my wife had to work, and the next thing we knew our entire 1 acre property was a giant unfinished project.

Now, here we are in Idaho, looking forward to a new house with less property and our own lawn. It will be nice to start over and hopefully have some success with a small garden and a nice lawn.

But I’ve been given an assignment at the church that is proving to be fulfilling. I’ve been tasked with watering the lawn. To some of you this may seem insignificant. But our lawn in Soap Lake degenerated rather quickly due to neglect. Since I’m at the church office throughout the week, there is no excuse for inattention. So it is my project. I intend to be proud of the green. To reclaim my fantasy of being a green thumb. Who knows… I might work myself up to flowers and weeding.