Keep on growing!

When I was ten I tried to grow pumpkins in our tiny backyard in Texas. I had spotted the seed packet at the five and dime one day after school and had begged my mom to get them for me. She finally agreed, then handed me the packet with an illustrated pumpkin patch on the front of it, which I proudly brought home in the front pocket of my red corduroy pocket-dress – my favorite outfit at the time besides my Walt Disney Jeans, which happened to be in the wash basket at the time or otherwise I probably would have been wearing them with my Keds sneakers.

Once home, I found a spade in my dad’s side of the garage, went around back, and started digging. I had read the instructions on the back of the packet very carefully three times, and cleared as much land as I was allowed to clear, which was about two square feet, and I dug up the grass there and made sure everything was done just like it said on the packet‘s directions.

Then, I watered my pumpkin patch faithfully. A lot of vines came up that year, but a pumpkin wasn’t showing up like in the Charlie Brown series.
I tried everything pushing the flower and stalk together to “cross-pollinate” them (that’s what I thought I was doing, anyway) with my hands. Watering them more. Watering them less…the Internet was years away from being invented for reasearching purposes and the books I found at the Dallas library didn’t go into much detail on pumpkins so I was stumped. I really really wanted to grow my pumpkins but I didn’t know how.

Years later I realize I could easily have gotten my mom to take me to the local gardening place and simply asked someone how to do it. I don’t remember the specifics of our backyard anymore, but the vines probably weren’t getting enough sunlight or vice-versa or maybe I’d just picked a place too close to the sidewalk. (All of thes little things can be important factors). Had I discussed my patch with someone who knew a lot about gardening themselves, I probably could have gotten a pumpkin of my own that long-ago season.

When we’re young, and growing up, or older (and still “growing-up) sometimes we go it alone too much and forget that people can be the best resources ever. I wasn’t the world’s most outgoing kid and I think that fact ended up having something to do with the fact that I was never able to grow a pumpkin in my tiny garden that year. But I’ve been through a lot and learned a lot since then. I’ve grown up a lot. I realize now that people are life’s greatest teachers and treasures. Now I ask for advice and help from people all the time.

It helps me keep on growing.