Green Thumb

We are well into Spring, and most of our neighbors are busy mowing their lawns and planting their garden. Most of the front yards in the Village are dotted with regal purple flowers and bright daffodils. Wish I could say our home boasts of the same floral delight, but alas! I'm not much of a gardener. I can barely keep a bamboo plant alive, and all that needs is water, much less try to grow a whole garden.

But there is hope! I've convinced my eldest, who is 13, he inherited the green thumb from my Mom. He has taken special interest in planting flowers and some vegetables. He borrowed several books from the library, such as Organic Gardening for the Dummies, Container Gardening for the Dummies and Annuals for the Dummies. Just his effort alone is enough to make me beam with pride. He has made actual composts and is now looking into how he can make his own flower beds. I've offered to buy plastic ones, but no, he wants the real deal. Wooden ones to be made by his own hands.

No, there's nothing wrong with my son. I've checked his temperature. Gardening over video games? He loves the PlayStation and Internet just like any normal teenager, but I'm convinced it's the effect of our environment. With all these greens surrounding us, how can you not be taken in by Mother Nature? Even someone like me who's got a brown thumb or something gets the urge to dig in the dirt and plant something so I can have the pleasure of seeing it bloom. Maybe my son will have better luck!

How We Got Here

I had visited around 50 cities in 12 different countries by the time I was 25. I had lived always within the hustle and bustle of a city that never stood still. The sound of swishing vehicles would lull me to sleep. I used to love the white noise of urban living. Silence was too loud for me.

And so, I am bewildered and in awe whenever I look up and down and around my neighborhood to find that we have made our home smack in the middle of suburbia. And not just your regular suburb. It's more like a hybrid between country and suburban living. This is where they have converted acres and acres of cornfields into family-friendly subdivisions. In fact, we were a part of a historical development. Population was 5,000 one year and grew to 20,000 in less than five years. We were one of the many young couples who suddenly found themselves prioritizing the upbringing and future of their preschool-aged children over any exciting delights urban life had to offer. Hence, the move.

We now drive everywhere as opposed to walking or taking the bus. We occasionally have bovine byproducts perfuming the air. I can no longer look towards the lake and proclaim that as East, so that I can find my North, South and West. I swear the streets in the Subdivisions were laid out to challenge a person's skill in mazes. We congratulate ourselves when we can find directions to a friend's house in Mapquest. We ourselves are proud that our own residence is in fact an official address.

Ah, but the quiet and the endless rolling fields can grow on you. I don't mind it as long as I've got my Borders and Barnes and Noble within a 10 mile radius. A decade of having settled down feels like a lifetime, but amazingly enough, this suburban country living can still hold surprises for a former city girl.