What I Learned (Again) on My Vacation

May 31, 2014  

The past two weeks have been busy around here, with some wins and some losses, a couple of wins I’d thought were going to be losses and vice versa.

I got the transplants for the backyard garden into the ground just before it began to rain off and on for most of the two weeks. A definite win. The critters ate all of the melon, cucumber and okra transplants – and rain be damned. Pretty much a loss. I replanted the cucumbers and melons from seed. Whether it’s too late in the season remains to be seen, so I really won’t know for a while whether that turns out to be a win or a loss. They got the peppers, too, but last year they grew back early enough that I was able to enjoy a few and freeze a few, anyway. I have a couple of okra transplants left, but I’d like to let them get a little stronger before I stick them in the ground to face the critters.

The peas, lettuce and spinach are holding their own and I’ve enjoyed a couple of great salads, so far. The tomatoes, green beans and squash are looking good, so far. The corn was planted from seed, so I’m still waiting for it to show up, though I’m confident it’s there, somewhere, under all that straw. And the potatoes and onions are coming up – just not where I thought I’d planted them. (Oh, come on! Tell me all those straw beds don’t start to look the same after a while.)

I’ll start the little side garden tomorrow, if it doesn’t rain in the morning when it’s cool and get too hot and sticky in the afternoon for this old gal to work that hard. Looks like it’s going to be mostly tomatoes, green beans and squash for that garden.

The house is clean, for now; the dishes that had piled up while I was gardening are washed and put away, for now; the laundry is done (and another couple of piles started). The window that was broken and the screens that were torn have all been repaired and are back in place, so I can enjoy the breezes this old house was built to take advantage of. Long story, but that was a win I’d thought was going to be a total loss.

We’re supposed to get rain off and on through Tuesday, although it’s warm and sunny with a cool breeze right now. We’ve caught up with our rain deficit, just barely, but after Tuesday, it’s supposed to be hotter and drier, so it’s probably too early to tell if that will be a win or turn into a loss.

I love my life and hope to live to a ripe old age. For city living, it’s a pretty simple life. And after reading the news from around the world these last two weeks, that’s probably a win for me.

We want much more than we need. We want it now, always and forever. And when we want that way – heedlessly, with that kind of angry, yearning discontent – it turns into a loss rather than a win. Whether we’re an Empire that wants to rule the world or a kid with a gun in Isla Vista, we don’t get everything we want. Life just doesn’t work that way.

And, honestly, learning that, learning to take the losses with the wins and go on, is probably the biggest win of all. That’s what I learned again on my vacation.