There are many things that we do in life because of the memories that are associated with them.
When I watch garden shows on PBS or CREATE, people often say that they got into gardening when they were kids by planting and caring for gardens along with their parents. It’s fascinating for children to plant a seed and watch its journey as it turns into a vegetable. It teaches them where food comes from. Food may be purchased from the shelves of a grocery store, but when you actually grow the vegetables, you are educated about their origin.
When I was 8, my parents bought the lot next to our house. The engineering “plat map” for Howard Avenue shows all lots as 50 x 150 feet. If houses were built that close together, there would be no privacy. That prompted my mother and father to purchase the empty lot next to our house back in 1952 and eliminate the possibility of a house very close to ours. Since my husband and I now live in the house, I am glad for the extra land.
They discussed how to use the lot. Would they just mow it as a side lawn or establish a garden there? My father came up with the ideal solution: The front half would be a lawn, and the back half would be a vegetable garden. Establishing both of those was a lot of work, but the end result was worth it.
My father built a picket fence with an arbor in the center to separate the two sections. The front area had a nicely mowed lawn, often with a croquet set or badminton net on it. It became a neighborhood gathering place for both kids and adults. The back section became a vegetable garden. I planted seeds alongside my dad and was fascinated as they turned into cucumbers, beans, tomatoes, etc. There were even a few rows of corn that made a great place for us to play “hide and seek.” We shared any extra veggies with neighbors and friends.
I think those childhood experiences are partly responsible for my love of gardening and sharing extra veggies with others. I put them in a box on a small table under a city tree near the sidewalk. There is a “Help Yourself” sign on the box, and by the end of the day, the box is empty! Most of the “takers” are people who walk in our neighborhood. I don’t usually see who they are, but a couple of people stopped when they saw me working outside to tell me they love finding the box.
I’ve done the majority of my gardening in my retirement years. That gives me even more appreciation for my father being a full-time pharmacist when he established his garden and built the fence and arbor that extended over a 50-foot area. I never thought about how handy he was until the “adult me” took a look back at that period.
When I was young, my mother was into crocheting, embroidery, and knitting. She would pick up a project every night and work on it while watching TV. I was taught to do all those things when I was old enough. I didn’t enjoy crocheting, but I have wonderful reminders of my mother’s talent because I kept her doilies and a dining room tablecloth. Knitting was not my thing either! Embroidery turned out to be something I enjoy. I started with cross-stitch but soon found that the embroidery designs were much prettier. I went from samplers to table runners, pillowcases, towels, baby quilts, and bibs. Eventually, I ran out of people to give the items to, and craft shows provided the opportunity for me to keep doing embroidery. I work on the items while I watch TV, just as my mother did.
The memory of my mother cooking and baking made me want to recreate some of her favorites as I got older. Many of her recipes are on index cards, and seeing her writing as I make things is like a step back in time.
Take a look back at some of the things you enjoyed the most today, and you will realize that you are recreating the pleasures of your early years. What a fun way to keep those memories alive!
