We planted peas over a month ago and then were hit with a crazy amount of snow and rain. Spring turned back into winter. They were late to emerge but we indeed now have little pea plants. Strider does so much of the hard labor and the real "work" outside, so I thought I'd do my part and weed our early, cold crop garden. And then I got confused fast.
What to do? Do I guess? Do I swallow my pride as a novice farmer and call an expert?
If I choose wisely, the tiny weed roots are easy as pie to pull out and toss out of my garden patch.
If I leave them in there to see what they look like as they get bigger, thus making my decision for me, I risk them harming the good plant and being really hard remove.
Do I approach my parenting in the same manner? Am I able to recognize the weeds sprouting all around my kids and dispose of them while they are tiny? Or do I rationalize that the weed (music, movies, use of free time, friend choices) is harmless till bigger? That I will take care of it later if it looks to be causing a problem?
My teen and preteen sons in particular are causing me to constantly reevaluate what battles I'm going to fight and it's forcing me to clearly define what I will and won't allow. It's so dang hard to see the end from the beginning, I'm finding. I have to pull out those little weeds while they are seedlings and before they catch me off guard.
You always have such a great perspective! I admit teenages scare me! My oldest is 8 and he's already pushing me away and striving for independance. It's a juggling trick to try and give him that independance, but also closely monitering his choices so I can catch those "seedlings" now. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI think the hardest part of parenting is knowing which seedlings to pull out first. I feel like my teenager should be able to make right choices (maybe do some weed pulling)but when I see him missing some I want to jump in and save him. I pray daily that I am teaching enough that we are able to tackle those weeds together! You are a fabulous momma!
ReplyDelete