Thursday, June 17, 2010

I've always heard that gardening can teach you a lot about life.




I've been searching for ideas that make living with vegetables pretty. On a deck these plants take up a lot of room. I say, make those tomato cages earn their keep! What a great idea. Of course carrying out such a project is more difficult than it may appear. When do I have time for frivolous things? If you want to know the nitty-gritty of this DIY, it involves me at the edge of the woods, in the dark, with a flashlight, 4 wire cages and a can of spray paint.

Logistics aside, I find satisfaction in this aspect of motherhood. Finding ways to make our lives a little more comfortable and beautiful is important to me.

After I took these pictures, David called to tell me about a cockroach job he took. In haste he bid a premium price for this time consuming and undesirable task. He wasn't really concerned about getting the work, but the customer agreed. He arrived at the home to find the caller was 17 years old. The teenager met him at the door and showed him the infested house. It was a much larger problem than David had imagined. Through casual conversation David discovered that the boys parents refused to do anything about it, and he just couldn't live like that any longer. He said he wanted to be able to bring his friends over. So he was paying for the treatments, with his own money.

Sometimes my perspective changes so swiftly that it shocks me.

The Lord sees fit to teach me this way.

I see the yellow tomato cages not as a reminder of my clever accomplishments, but a reminder of how very much more there is for me to do.

5 comments:

Lora said...

Wow what a story. That is heartbreaking!

I love the yellow cages. I have been spray painting A LOT lately, Mike just laughs at me.

From what I can see your family is so lucky to have your beautiful "touches" surround them!
xo

Miss Sarah in Georgia said...

Love the tomato cages. I may just have to borrow that idea ... if I can ever get tomatoes in this season. :)

What a young man to take care of his own problems, but heartbreaking that his family won't help.

Isaura said...

cute idea with the tomatoes. the last time i tried to grow tomatoes the birds got them before i could get them off the vine. darn things.
stephmodo is a fun blog. i thought it would have been dreamy to stay in her little french cottage when we were there, but had no time.
stories like that of the young boy break my heart. the sad thing is that there are lots of those kinds of children out there. i understand how you had an awakening of sorts.
i hope dave gave him a discount, which my heart tells me he prob did. love your little container garden btw.

Nicole said...

That's quite a story. I don't think a better person could have landed that job.

p.s. Thanks for the help with my blog! ;)

Christy said...

oh, my heart aches for that poor boy. that is so sad.

the yellow is very cute for the tomato cages. what a fun idea!