That Tomato Plant and Evan

Early in Spring I was giddy with possibilities for our YARD! Our first summer with a yard, not a deck, not a driveway, but actual grass and space for the kids to run and play and for gardens. GARDENS! So, I bought waaaayyyy too many seed packets from the store and began my seedlings. Tomatoes, zucchini, squash of three types. Things were looking good until about mid-May when my tomatoes caught dampening-off disease and all died within the span of a couple days. All thirty-something of them. I was so frustrated and sad. This was our first GARDEN, all the plants had to be from seed that I planted and nurtured and grew. Failure wasnt acceptable. Until it was. I sat on the stoop of my back door and packed away all the tomato seedlings that were dead into a bag and brought it to the compost pile. A couple weeks later I went out and bought 30 tomato plants from the garden store and tried not to look back. (All the zucchini and squash incidentally survived and is planted happily in my garden producing veggies for our family.)

Cut to a couple months ago when I noticed something familiar and growing up next to the step of my back door. Could it be? No. Not possible. But, it was. A tomato plant from my cast off seedlings growing right out of the rocky ground next to the door. And wouldnt you know, it has teeny tiny tomatoes on it. In the most impossible of circumstances and unlikely of places it has persevered. Its a gentle reminder to me throughout the day that the unexpected, unlikely, and most amazing things come when you least expect it.

Today I was doing some artwork, a pin the tail on the dinosaur for one of my favorite newly minted 6 year olds. The boys were doing some pictures of their own and Evan was making a card for his cousin's birthday. We were chatting and coloring away and Evan asked me how to spell "dear" and then "Andrew". I rattled off the letters without a second thought. When I took a break from what I was doing I looked over to see the above card laid out on the table, done by Evan (which I had to ask twice to confirm was his work and not Justin's). Evan, my hard working boy, had written every single letter himself, without me even telling him what the letters looked like. This from a boy who 8 months ago could not even hold a pencil. This from the child that my stomach has been in knots over sending to kindergarten so ill-prepared.

The most amazing things do come when you least expect it...