The past little while I have been thinking a lot about how quickly it seems that my boys are growing up. Right from the moment W was born over 12 and a half (almost 13!!) years ago I knew this time in my life, and their lives, would go by quickly and I promised myself that I would enjoy every moment of mothering. I decided then not to try to rush any bit of their childhood to get to the next step but to enjoy it for what it was at the moment - to really be in the present with them. Of course I learned that's not always possible but I do think I have done a good job of fully enjoying all the pleasures and lessons that motherhood has to offer.
A lot of circumstances have been coming together lately that have me mulling over how quickly our babes grow up - a friend living in the "full on" stage of mothering (she is attachment parenting twins and not getting much sleep) that I remember so well it seems as though it was yesterday; another friend who will soon be welcoming her new baby into her family life that already includes two lovely little ones; some drawn out health issues that have necessitated even more independence on my boys' parts; the realization that my first born is entering a new stage of his life (a teen) and that I will soon be learning new mothering lessons and the realization that my "baby" is getting Huge! and no where near a baby anymore.
It seems that most everything in my life right now makes me think of "those mothering years", the ones from birth until about 6 years of age, when things are so completely absorbing that I didn't have time to think of anything else. I look at the tire swing and think of all the games that the boys made up that revolved around an old tire. I look under the plum tree where the sand box sat for 8 years until last year they sold it at a garage sale because they didn't use it anymore. A trampoline has replaced the
swing set that my little ones played on for many years and the
Tonka trucks sit mostly unused in the playhouse. When I look out my kitchen window at the walnut tree I think about all the hot summer afternoons when we sat on a blanket and read together.
This year is the first time in 9 years that we have not had a bean
teepee in our garden...and it makes me sad. E decided that this year he would have a sunflower house instead so when I saw the book
Sunflower House at the library I brought it home for us to read. It was lovely. And it reminded me even more how quickly time passes. I look at each mudpie he makes and wonder how many more there will be.
I guess even though I always knew how quickly this time would pass I still find myself surprised at how quickly it
did pass, especially since they have always learned at home and I have always been with them. I can't imagine how I would feel if they were away for most the day. So, for now I will continue to enjoy my days with them, I will work to be even more fully in the present with them and ...
I will stop and watch and smile every time I see this.
A little later he took a bucket of plums to a neighbour and then came back to help me with some other chores. My neighbour came over later to bring me one of her Walla Walla onions and she also wanted to tell me about her visit with E. She had remarked to him that he didn't look very happy when he delivered the plums (they are good friends and she knows him well), he said that he had been helping me do chores and so she thought perhaps he was grumpy about that. He then said to her, "And do you know what mommy is doing?" She didn't. So he went on to tell her that I was cutting up all the tomato plants...and that I had even cut off two little tomatoes. She listened to his story, complete with hand gestures and lots of emotion. Then she asked him if he knew what she had done yesterday, he asked what and she told him that she, too, had pruned her tomato plants. And that seemed to satisfy him. I'm not sure why. Either he trusts her gardening judgement more than mine or he just doesn't care about her tomatoes as much. Anyway, I find it all very funny and love that he feels such concern for our tomato plants.
And, at the end of the day, we all enjoyed a nice tomato, cuke and Walla Walla salad.
I joined him in the garden and he showed me all the things that were ready for harvest. We started picking the zucchini, looked at the cucumber plants and then realized we would need a big basket to hold them all. While I was picking poles beans E was talking about what we would make with all this produce. What I love is that he said, "When the baskets are filled with all our treats..."
I love that he thinks that beans, zucchini, tomatoes and cucumbers are "treats". I think just that alone makes for a very good reason for children to have a garden...because home-grown veggies really are a treat.
They are looking gorgeous today and so we will sample two of them at dinner. To me, it really seems like summer and garden season once the tomatoes start to ripen.
I love having tomatoes at lunch and dinner (and snacktime) every day.
It seems to me that these plants have a large amount of tomatoes on them for their size, so often tomato plants get so huge and then end up with not a lot of tomatoes, but these seem very productive.
Our apricot tree didn't do too well this year, it was in full beautiful blossom when we got some unseasonably cold weather here. The blossoms were not happy and we ended up with only a little fruit. 
These have been split and put in the freezer to use sparingly in smoothies, using just one in each smoothie gives it a nice, creamy sort of texture.
And my first patty pan squash is finally ready too.
We enjoyed it served hot with some 
I finally asked him to lay off the berries for awhile so that we would have some to put in the freezer and also because I was getting a little worried that he might do a Violet Beauregarde. Remember?
And, like Samantha with her 
In the meantime, I need to get more cukes for a bigger batch of pickles next time.