Friday, July 29, 2011

A Tiny Tree and a Giant Zucchini

In an earlier post (July 13, Whoosh!…), we discussed how summer is nearly over. Well, I looked out my window and, lo and behold—it is autumn! OK, not really. We have a tiny tree in our yard that’s been putting up a good fight for years. Now, after multiple heat waves, the tree’s brown leaves seem to scream for tender loving care.  Unfortunately, I have a theory (yes, another one). Here it is: water the flowers, the trees are on their own (sorry arborists).  Some of our trees, including the little sick one, would require too much e-x-e-r-c-i-s-e to care for them. Remember from the July 22 post (The Other Boomerang Effect) how tree-watering would NOT fit into my current work-out schedule? I’m not fond of cumbersome hoses and sloshing water buckets.
Shortly after I noticed our suffering tree, someone gave us a massive zucchini. This veggie measured fourteen inches long and three and a half inches in diameter. A gardener put love and care into cultivating that plant. I learned that a zucchini isn’t difficult to grow. Give them a little attention—water, sun and fertilizer and—you’ll have a huge, healthy vegetable.
Our tiny tree and the giant zucchini are great metaphors for our various relationships. Some flourish when we nurture them and others—when we neglect them—not so much.  Here’s great advice from Auntie Artichoke’s video.                   


Too bad she didn’t give the five things necessary to nourish our relationships. We can create our own list. Based on your life experience, what’s your most important relationship and how do you nourish it?

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