Weeding Out the Riff Raff

This morning I was a little ambitious and did some work in the garden. I pulled out a few weeds, the riff-raff, and thought how much the tomato plants were like children.

We started our tomato plants in pots, carefully tending to them, watering and feeding them regularly. 

When the weather warmed up and they were ready to make it on their own they went outside in the garden.

We put cages around them for support and to help them stand straight. Some of the tomato plants are straight up in the cages flourishing with the support while others find ways to escape the wire, as if reaching for freedom outside the cage's confines. I gently put the tomato vines back into the cages and wonder how many will try to get out during the night when nobody is watching. I weed around the plants, clearing the riff-raff (weeds) to keep the weeds from stealing the precious nutrients the tomatoes need to survive. 

How like children they are! 

We nuture our children, feeding and loving them as they grow until they are ready to go to school, their first date, drive a car, or first big trip without Mom or Dad. Some will flourish with that guidance while others will bristle as if confined and look for ways to escape. We try to keep the children safe from the "riff-raff" that may injure or steal from them. 

So, as I weeded the next row, I noticed some volunteer tomato plants that grew up among the weeds, all unexpected, all strong and beautiful...because sometimes there is good in the most unlikely places. 

It's as if they were placed there to remind me to look for beauty everywhere, even among the weeds. 

Happy Mother's Day

Post by Eileen Patterson of GoofingOff Sewing.