Happy Mother's Day to Me, a Plant Mom

I really love my plant babies. I didn't know how much I would enjoy being a plant mom. In the past, I've basically killed every plant entrusted to my care, so this is a pretty big deal. I currently have zucchini growing out back and zinnias, hollyhock, basil, and a jalapeno plant in the kitchen. Here are 101 lessons I have learned from being a plant mom (lol, jk I'll be lucky to think of 10).

1. Sometimes I love too hard. 

For example, I picked up my teeny tiny jalapeno plant earlier this week...and dropped it. If I would have just left it in the window, it would have been fine. But now that poor little sprout is fighting for his life. I replanted him, but it kind of feels like I performed a surgery that I'm not qualified for and I don't even know if he is in a coma or not. Probably he'll be fine though, right? 

2. Motherhood  makes you proud of weird things. 

Look how proud Mom is! I didn't even write my own name on that poster!

When I Facetimed my mom today, she really wanted to show me the fridge, which is covered in my sister's awards from school. Also she wanted to show me a cute/creepy cross-stitch my sister made of the grandbabies. Me? Well, I'm really proud of my plants for not dying. KEEP IT UP.

3. It's okay to think things will go well. 

I planted 3 zucchini seeds. They have outgrown their little cup and are now thriving outside. But sometimes I don't feel super confident in my plant-growing abilities, so I put approximately 18 basil seeds in that tiny cup and now they are all growing together. I am very worried that they will choke each other out, but I'm also too nervous to try and separate them until they get a little bigger. Moral of the story: plant 1 dang seed at a time and BELIEVE it will grow.

4. A mother's love knows no limits. 

My mom once let my brother's and I have a popcorn fight in the living room. I'm 99% sure she did 99% of the cleaning up too. Mostly because I have no memory of cleaning any of it up. Sorry, Mom. My plants don't really make messes, unless I accidentally drop them. But I did risk my life for them the other day. A BIG, black, hairy, jumping spider was living in our kitchen earlier this week. We couldn't kill it (mostly due to fear, but also because it could jump away from us onto surfaces that made killing it difficult). I was terrified of the spider, but maternal instincts kicked in when I saw it head for my plants. Carine got the broom and kept the spider distracted while I performed a rescue mission and moved my plants to the other side of the room.

In case you wondered, the spider is dead now. RIP. Carine ran outside and asked a man who was walking his dog to come inside and kill it. He did. Nice guy.

5. You have to keep working it, even when you don't see results.

I planted my seeds several days later than Greta planted her's, and it was pretty hard to see her seeds sprout first. I kept watering my little dirt cups, hoping the seeds weren't duds and that I was giving them the right amount of water and sunlight. Looking back, it didn't take long to see the fruits of my labor. But at the time it felt like FOREVER and I really wasn't sure a single one of my little seeds would grow. I'll let you go ahead and figure out this life parallel for yourself.

6. Some seeds are duds.

Okay, so I don't actually know if my cactus seeds are duds or not. How long do I continue to care for that cup of dirt without results? I HAVE NO IDEA. Relationships are a lot like that. Sometimes you don't know when it's worth working through hard things and when it's better to cut your losses and get out. I took a class my sophomore year at BYU where we had to grow a mystery seed and compare it to marriage. Our grade was based on both turning in a live plant and writing a paper about what it taught you about marriage. I was definitely an over-achiever in college, so when my little sprout KEPT DYING or not sprouting at all, I was very stressed about it. Didn't this seed know my grade was on the line?? I kept having to go to my professor and ask for more seeds. He would just look at me with pity and tell me to stop dating duds. And yes, I did get marked down on my project for killing all of my seeds. Foreshadowing.

I can only think of 6 lessons. I told you we'd be lucky if we got to 10. In lieu of additional life lessons learned from plants, enjoy these pictures of me and my mama. Happy Mother's Day!