Greg and I have always joked about my lack of being able to maintain life for our potted plants. Early on, we decided silk plants were the way to go. We held onto many a silk tree throughout our Army life.
We military families start getting the itch to move about two years after an assignment. We have accepted, challenged and tackled our mission and now it is time for another charge. However, upon moving to Colorado, my luck seemed to change about a year ago. We have been in beautiful Black Forest, Colorado, for 3.5 years and Greg has turned in his retirement paperwork. When I realized we were indeed going to live in the same house more than three years. I discharged the silk trees and their years of dust and began collecting beautiful ceramic pots.
But, the pots were not the most exciting thing about being rooted here. Our sons will be able to graduate from the school they now attend and our girls will get to live in a home with a beautiful playground called nature right outside the strong walls of our home. A home that my dear husband bought for me because I desired trees after all our years of shared backyards with nary a tree.
As I was meditating on the sudden occurrence of this green thumb I had, it did not escape my thoughts that Greg's mom had passed away almost a year ago. Mrs. Gentry could make anything grow. Did she leave me this parting gift. A gift she and I knew would be near and dear to Greg's heart. No, I do not believe in such things.
Wait!
A realization hit me!
I love to water.
I love to nurture.
In the past, I had drowned all my plants by giving them too much.
Here, in Colorado, in the high desert, it is so dry and I have indoor tropical and succulent plants that love water.
We are the perfect match.
This began me thinking about my approach to mothering and our decision to home school the first 8 years of our sons' lives.
We chose to home school for several reasons:
1) Greg and I were both introverted and the constant change of schools every two years to make the schools more integrated was not a good fit for us. Our children due to Greg's military career would be uprooted every two years if not sooner.
2) Military bases are not placed in the best of school districts.
3) I was not ready to let go of my babies.
In the early years of homeschooling, everything went smoothly because I watered those boys and took care of them like no other.
However, as they began to get older I realized my husband was right and I had done too much for them. Some plants and some children just do not need to be over saturated.
The boys are in public school now. I listened to God's calling to do this and I have not regretted it one moment.
Why have I not regretted it?
No, it is not because I can sleep in and do whatever I want. It is because God has given me children that do meet my need to water, water, water and water one more time.
The orphan.
The neglected.
The abused.
The trafficked.
The forgotten.
I gave my boys up to God and He gave me 143 million children world wide that need the love of mom and dad.
Thank you God for my Green Heart and my green thumb.
In His Name,
Amy
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