Recreating Memories

When I was young, we (my sister, brother and I) spent a lot of time at my grandparents' house. My mom's parents were about a mile or so away and since my mom was a single mom, we spent a lot of time at their house while my mom worked. A memory I don't think i will ever forget is the gigantic vegetable garden my grandmother had. She grew everything - tomatoes, zucchini, squash, green beans, snap sugar peas, peppers, carrots... you name it. And boy did she have a green thumb! You should have seen all the African Violets she always had! They were gorgeous! They are so hard to keep and she did it like the pro she has always been. Grandma used to send us out to the garden to pick the vegetables (after she taught us how to tell if they were ripe and how to pick them) and when it was time for the beans and peas, I think we ate more off the plants than we brought inside! Then once we got inside, we would prepare them.

For the beans, there were 2 bowls - 1 for the snapped ends and 1 for the ready-to-eat beans. We had so much fun sitting on the porch together and snapping the beans! And we LOVED to eat them raw. They are so much better that way. She would often come out and let us know that we needed to stop eating them so that there were enough for dinner.

And then the peas. How much fun it was to pop those open and slide our finger down the inside to get the peas out! That is, is we didn't eat the whole pod first! And then to eat those raw peas... I feel like I am sitting there right now, all of us laughing while Grandma watched from the kitchen window (monitoring how many we were eating so that there were enough for dinner). Such a beautiful memory for so many reasons.

I don't think my Grandma really minded how many we were eating before hand. What a great way to introduce so many things to your kids! Not only introducing vegetables to kids, but also a work ethic and hands-on experience with how to begin to cook. We couldn't do the cooking itself, but we helped and children LOVE to eat things that they helped make. I got to share this story with Abi this morning as I was bringing the girls home from the fruit and vegetable stand. They love to go here with me and each time they get to pick something "new." Last time we went (we go a couple of times a week) Abi picked out kiwi. While she wasn't crazy about it, she tried it and ate it because she got to pick it out. Today she wanted starfruit, but they were out. Next time. So instead I asked her if she would like to pick a bag of green beans or a basket up snap sugar peas. She wanted to pick a basket of sugar peas. I told her to look over them and pick any one she wanted. She was so excited and handed me the one she thought looked best. Amanda picked a couple of little oranges (something neither one of my girls have cared for) so Abi also picked a couple she wanted. On the way home as I shared my childhood story with her she said, "I can't WAIT to get home and pop those sugar peas! Do they taste like sugar?" I told her, "You'll have to taste and see! Then you can let me know what you think they taste like!" She excitedly told me again that she couldn't wait!

Once we got home I washed the peas, put them in a bowl and took them to the table. I showed her how to pop them open and find the peas inside. I wish you could have heard her sweet giggle. She was so excited to try one she could only giggle! After trying one the next thing I knew the whole bowl was just about empty! She hardly touched anything else on her plate. Amanda wasn't so interested in the raw peas. In all honesty, green vegetables have always been popular with my girls. Peas, green beans, broccoli..... they love all of them. I wasn't surprised that Abi gobbled them up, but to share my experience with her is what made it so wonderful.

So here are a couple of take-aways. Take your children to the local farmer's market or produce stand and let them pick out some things to take home and try. Plant a garden - let them help plant the seeds or plants and take care of the garden, pick the produce and prepare it for meals. Find some positive experiences from your childhood that make you smile and find a way to recreate those or share those with your children. It creates a way for you to connect with your children and remember precious moments you experienced as a child. If you don't have any of these memories, create your own! These moments are so sweet and there is so much joy in watching the wonder of a child experience something new and feel like they are a part of something bigger.

I hope to one day have a place where I can have the girls help plant a garden, take care of it and pull the produce off to eat. How wonderful that will be! To plant a seed, cultivate it and watch it grow. There are such deep roots in those thoughts ...... how we plant physical seeds and watch physical plants grow, but also how we weave in the planting of spiritual seeds and watch our children grow in faith to know Jesus. These are the moments that make all the tears and frustration melt away. The bigger purpose. Raising children to love and honor God. What an honor to be called "mother."