Nine

Here is Anna, nine years old, with the pumpkin she carved all by herself with a sharp knife and her personal vision. Anna has a sturdy sense of herself. 

Among all these twenty kids we deal with two times a week in the junior garden club at the elementary school, Anna stands out. She is the one who can plant seedlings, no problem with extricating them from the nine packs. She seems to know the spacing, the depth, how to firm the earth around them. Anna's spouts will always grow. She knows how to plant seeds at the right depth and pat them down. 

Last week the garden club had a soup extravaganza featuring vegetables from the garden. We had spent an hour cooking everything and setting up for the expected parents and friends who would attend. 

This was a beautiful event. Many of the parents and siblings came, and by now the kids have learned a few table manners and are not so wild. 

Near the end of the afternoon, when everyone was full of collards and had said how much they loved this soup and salad and garlic bread, all made by the kids, Anna came up to me and asked could she say a few words. 

So we got everyone quiet and Anna stepped up in the front of the room. Anna's family did not attend, but if they had, they would be so proud of her.  With no notes, no hesitation, Anna proceeded to tell everyone how much the garden meant to them all, how thankful she was to have had this experience, how much she treasured the fellowship. I was blown away! Worth living for.

My own grandson is also just nine, and this time when he is staying here (not just a visitor, he has his own room), we have noticed such a change. He is no longer just a lovable kid. Yes, he's still that, but now he is a real partner in the workings of our place, takes his place in the chores and business of being a part of this household. And we have such wonderful conversations and partnership in learning new stuff.

One dinnertime he asked us something very few of our friends or family ever have: "When no one else is here and you are just here together what do you do?" He really wanted to know! It's still a big stretch for him to think that we have a routine that includes an hour of exercise, foreign language learning, etc. But he can relate to the hours we spend outside in the gardens and mending fences and tending to the land. He wanted to know when we did this. For all the many years he has often visited, he has known us as the folks who make delicious breakfasts, engage him in many activities, read aloud to him for far longer than a parent could, and try to explain just about anything. I think it is the greatest affirmation when someone, even a nine year old, really asks about you.

So, this is the beautiful NINE! I love it.