Down & Dirty

One of the pleasures I've had with creating our new garden space is watching the pride Elijah takes in caring for it. He always makes sure to remind me when we need to water the garden and is always quick to jump in and share what we have planted with random passerby's. I'm proud of the garden as well. We took a bit of space, originally filled with mostly shrubs and turned it into a flourishing garden. Our greens are growing strong, our herbs are spreading and I am shocked at how fast our peas are growing. There is definitely a strong sense of proud ownership when you can sit down to a meal where many of the ingredients are from your front yard. We're nowhere near growing all of our own food, but this small step makes me happy.
I also think that there is some silly pride associated with just how dirty Elijah can get. At some point socks and shoes come off and Elijah's toes wriggle around in the dirt, free as can be. Sometimes I will join him, relishing the feel of the cool dirt between my toes. Other times I'll just watch him enjoy himself and think to myself that another dirt rimmed tub will be the end result that night.