You have heard me complain about our garden numerous times, either on social media or even on the blog here.
And I will keep complaining, this is just what I do, and gardening is a ton of work. But at the same time I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity I have to teach the kids.
I watched my mother grow herbs, cook jam from fruits in our garden, she even baked our bread from scratch back then. Now those were different times, it was near to impossible to buy organic, Tschernobyl had just happened and the importance of wholesome nutrition was on the rise.
But even if now I can get organic and locally grown at our nearest supermarket, I still think nothing teaches you to value your food like growing at least a part of it yourself.
On top of that, being responsible for watering plants, weeding them and at the end of the day harvesting fresh strawberries still warm from the sun teaches the kids a lot.
I can explain to my daughter much easier why we are not buying cherries in the midst of winter if I can show her the cherrie tree and tell her that they just need more time to grow to their full potential.
Same goes for apples, strawberries, grapes – all of which are in store for the whole year, but simply aren’t in season.
Speaking of seasons, we are very lucky to experience a noticeable change in seasons here in Germany, the difference between winter, summer, spring and fall is clear, and living with this seasonal rhythm is a blessing.
I only realized that when I read a book recently, (“The rhythm of family – Discovering a sense of wonder through the seasons” by Amanda Blake Soule, here) that in many parts of the world people have by choice or by need alienated themselves from the change in seasons and the different vibes each of them has.
Rereading this last paragraphs feels a little hippi-esque, but I just cannot think of another way to explain it: Connecting to nature and living with the seasons has always been important to me and it is something I want to teach my kids. Living a (fairly) sustainable life, being a part of nature and your surroundings, experience the bigger sense of calm and peace that being outside offers – I wouldn’t want them to grow up without that.
Too deep? Maybe.
In the end, we are just growing salad here.