The Giving Garden

Earlier this year, my school district created a community garden to provide our students with a hands-on service actvity and to help ensure our local food pantry has ample fresh produce throughout the summer months.

With limited gardening experience, I volunteered to spend a few hours each Tuesday watering, weeding, and harvesting.  I'm not sure what I expected, but working in this garden has been a tremendous learning experience.

First of all, it has been quite the family affair.  Of course, Anthony and Jimmy have been helpful.  My big guy has gotten pretty efficient at washing, drying, and packaging the produce, and my littlest helper loves watering the various plots.  Dan helped out by painting the (nearly finished) shed, and my parents have been committed to weeding  and watering the veggies and flowers each week.

In addition to a teacher and his family, who are spearheading the effort, a handful of students and staff have been working throughout the summer to make the garden a success.  So far, we are averaging about 80 pounds of produce each week, all of which has been donated to the food pantry on our campus.  We've even been able to share fresh bouquets from our perennial garden with various summer staff members and community organizations.

I feel that this garden is filled with life lessons for me, and for my boys.  Most importantly, I am trying to teach my sons that giving back to others, in whatever way possible, is paramount.  Jimmy isn't quite able to understand the concept of service, but Anthony gets that the work we do benefits others.  He knows that there are people that need food, and that the vegetables he washes and bags will nourish them.  He doesn't question if it is his responsiblity, and he doesn't ask what he gets out of it.  He simply does it.  I hope both Anthony and James continue with this (rather simple) view of service. 

Ralph Waldo Emerson said that, "it is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that you cannot sincerely try to help another without helping yourself."  While this Giving Garden benefits others, it has also benefitted my family.  I cherish spending this time, hard at work, with my boys and my parents.  I have learned a little bit more about the world by getting my hands dirty and my shoes muddy, and I have hopefully given my boys the opportunity to begin demonstrating their responsbility to the world.   I'm glad we have been able to share a couple of hundred pounds of produce with some local folks, but I'm truly grateful for the relationships I've continued to cultivate in the garden.