September is harvest time. In days of old, we’d take stock of all the living things we’ve been trying to grow. Sometimes gardeners grow from seeds, and sometimes, people like me grow from seedlings. Sometimes the planting and tending goes in a very planned way, and sometimes it comes in more surprising ways.
This is a cucumber plant in our yard. I did not put it there. I planted cucumbers about 75 feet away in a carefully tended garden. But this rogue cuke somehow grounded itself in the rocks, near the children’s swing set and assorted pairs of stomping feet.
Stubborn thing.
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In that carefully tended garden, I have melons. I did not plant these melons. Earlier in the summer, my husband served the family a breakfast of honeydew with prosciutto and lime juice, and then mulched the waste. I suppose the seeds took root.
Stubborn things.
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In the front yard towering over the driveway, there is a sunflower. I did not plant it. There are no similar flowers near it. It is so florally prolific that it droops in the path of our car as we maneuver into and out of the garage. It’s taken quite a beating, but still keeps producing flowers that reach for the light.
Stubborn thing.
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I honor the hearty biology of these organisms, which strive to grow where they are. I admire their thirst for sunlight and their ongoing quest for growth, no matter how unlikely or unsuitable their surroundings.
I am mom by adoption, and I love taking stock of our family’s growth each harvest fest. I dedicate this article to my children, Tessa and Reed, the hearty, stubborn rogues that landed in my garden. Way to bloom where you’re planted!
Lori is the award-winning author of the of the book The Open-Hearted Way to Open Adoption: Helping Your Child Grow Up Whole, on required reading lists at adoption agencies around the country. Since 2007 she has written regularly at LavenderLuz about adoptive parenting, open adoption, and living mindfully. Lori was nominated by Senator Michael Bennet as an Angel in Adoption® honoree in 2018 by the Congressional Coalition of Adoption Institute (CCAI). Lori has lived in the Denver metro area most of her life, and she and her husband are raising their daughter and son in the same zip code where she grew up. She loves embarrassing her teenagers with stories about the good old days at their high school and hangout places.
