Distractions, distractions, distractions! We have gone for three weeks without posting on our blog. We have been extremely busy and we have decided to share the lessons we have learnt whilst we were AWOL 😉 (Absent Without Official Leave)
If this is your first time here, we extend a very warm welcome to you. We suggest that you read our previous blog posts on this link Previous Blog Posts, to give you some background information and how we got to this point.
Background to the distractions…
As we mentioned in our Empty Nest blog post, we have just acquired an allotment – kamunda kedu! To be precise we got the allotment in November last year. For the benefit of those in the southern hemisphere, over here November is the time when winter will be setting in with those dreary dark days. Our allotment number is Plot 96A, hence the title of this blog post.
We were excited to finally get an allotment and we started preparing slowly. The allotment we got had not been used for the past 6 years and therefore was very much overgrown. We had never seen so much nettle thistle in one place! The work appeared so daunting.
We will share with you a brief timeline and the lessons we have learnt so far on this new adventure. Jabu and I saw that this is one thing that both of us would enjoy doing – surprisingly we didn’t use to do this in Zim. The past two years we had started growing some vegetables in pots in our tiny back garden and we had enjoyed the fruit of our labour.
Clearing of the allotment
We started clearing the plot systematically. Spring appeared so far away, but we knew that there was a lot of work to be done. Our friend and gardening mentor was on hand to encourage us as the task looked so huge. On his advice, we planted some garlic and onions on the first bit of piece of land we cleared. We learnt that garlic and onions are not affected by the cold winters!
As they say a picture is worth a thousand words, we will share photos of our progress to date followed by Family Life Lessons we have learnt so far from the allotment
A simple timeline of photos follows
Family Life Lessons From Plot 96A
Lesson 1 : It takes hard work and commitment if you want to have a good harvest
Allotment is hard work from clearing the overgrown allotment, digging, putting manure, preparing the beds, sowing the seeds, transplanting, watering, weeding etc – it is hard work but so enjoyable and fulfilling. We have been consistent and committed in our efforts. After our first taste of the produce from the allotment so far (mustard greens – tsunga and rape), it has been worth it! And we look forward to some more produce.
Just last Sunday – we took a truck load of delivery in preparation for next season – and we had to shift it! Hard work continues… who needs to go to the gym after this?
The same applies with family life. We shared earlier that parenting is hard work but one of the most fulfilling roles in someone’s life. We feel that as a family, when every member puts in the hard work, the fruit will be worthwhile for all. Therefore, we encourage everyone to be committed to the happiness of your own family.
Lesson 2: Importance of Mentors in life
In life it is important to identify mentors who can help you on the journey. For our allotment we are blessed to have a friend who has had his allotment for over 20 years and was willing to help us. He advises, but leaves us to make our own decisions. Sometimes we struggle to do certain tasks – thankfully he is on hand to show us and then he watches us until we get the hang of it. Jabu and I have learnt so many gardening skills from our friend.
We think this is equally important in family settings. A quick reminder to our young friends. You are NOT the first one to be doing the things you are doing or facing the situations that you are facing. You will benefit immensely if you allow your parents to be your mentors. As you grow, look around for people you admire and get close to them. I bet they will be willing to help you on your journey. As you get in relationships, identify a mentor who can help you on this important phase of your own development. After marriage as a young couple, you may want to look for another mature couple who can help you. By the way, the mentors are not there to “run” your life but they are there to support you in case you need them. Over the years, the mentors would have picked up from their experience a lot of valuable lessons they would like to share with others.
Lesson 3: Laws of Agriculture
- You reap what you sow
This sounds so obvious but you will be surprised by how many people miss this. The Bible says in Galatians 6:7 – Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.
At our allotment we have sown beans, potatoes, sweet corn, tomatoes, pumpkins etc. There is nowhere we expect to harvest something we have not planted. The same applies to life. If you want to harvest love, joy, care,.. in your family you should plant love, joy, care…. Every member of the family should be in the business of planting this. It is not just for the parents to sow this whilst the children are looking on.
- You reap some time after you sow
Even in this age of instant gratification, the allotment taught us that you don’t harvest immediately after sowing. We planted our garlic in December and we only harvested them last week. Some plants even take longer than that. So it is with our lives, be patient. Sometimes it may appear that your sowing is not producing any results – surely the fruits will come. As a young person those long days of studying and working hard may not seem to produce any results but please hang in there. It will surely come good. We have and continue to see it in our family.
- You reap a lot more than you sow
This the joy of gardening! You sow one kernel of sweetcorn (chibage) and you harvest a cob (muguri). We haven’t harvested our sweetcorn yet, but we have already experienced this from our garlic – we planted one clove of garlic and we harvested a full garlic bulb.
The Bible also warns about planting the wrong stuff – Hosea 8:7 – they sow the wind and reap the whirlwind.
This also applies to the family life – if you want to get more of certain stuff, just invest in planting that same stuff and you will get a lot more than you have invested. What do you want in your family? Just deliberately plant that same thing you want to see.
Lesson 4: Determination/resilience
At our allotment up to date we have faced a number of challenges. One day after planting our potatoes nicely, we came the next day to see many of the potatoes thrown all over the plot. There were animal prints that followed the lines we had planted – we suspect that a fox my have come during the night. We replanted them and the same thing happened the following day. This was so discouraging. Then we decided to replant them and cover them up with our land cover until we see them sprouting. When we uncovered them, they were now safe and no problem from the animals.
The other time we planted some dwarf beans. After a couple of weeks, we noticed that only a few had germinated. We had to replant, and this time sowing a few more in each hole and at the time of writing, they had all germinated.
In life, sometimes things do not work out as expected. You may see surprises, but do not throw in the towel. Try to look for ways around the problem. Try to resolve the problem. Even with the best plan, sometimes in life things don’t go according to that plan. Try, try, try again, if at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again.
Lesson 5: Beware of the weeds
Our mentor said these profound words of advice – Be sure to stay on top of the weeds. As a gardener, you learn that you do not plant weeds but they grow up anyhow. If you are not vigilant, you will wake up one day to find out the whole allotment taken over by weeds. They will take all the water and nutrients meant for the plant. Therefore, what we do is every time we see a weed, we get rid of it.
What we have also done is to get rid of the pests. We used a netting to cover up the plants that can be eaten by birds or butterflies can lay their eggs (caterpillars).
The same applies with family life. As a parent, you may realise that there are some bad habits or language that a child has picked up from somewhere – TV, friends etc – it is important that these are nipped in the bud. If “weeds” are left to flourish, they will take a lot more effort later to get rid of. As parents we also encourage that you also protect your children from external influences, like how we used the netting at the allotment – if this not done you are at risk of losing all the hard work that you have put in to raising your children.
As a couple, another lesson we pick from the allotment is, what are the “weeds” that are taking the nutrients of the marriage? Could it be TV, external interests etc. It is important as a couple to quickly identify these weeds and get rid of them before they get out of hand.
Lesson 6: Understanding “perfection”
We are very happy with our sweetcorn and potatoes. Why are we happy when the sweetcorn does not have any cobs? Because our sweetcorn is “perfect” for its stage of life/growth. The lesson that we learnt from this is that as a family you should allow each other room to reach full potential. As parents it is important you notice the potential of your children and help them realise their potential.
As a couple, allow each other time to grow and mature. Jabu and I always look back and laugh at some of the things that we used to do that showed a lot immaturity. Jabu always says to me in the hearing of our children – “Wim you are not the woman I married and neither am I the man you married. We have both changed so much through our life experiences together”. So true. Marriage is all about growth and it continues to be work in progress.
These are some of the lessons we have learnt so far from our allotment. I hope this explains why we had gone AWOL! In June we also hosted our children when they came up north for my birthday. What a great time we had – special! We had last seen them in July last year.
Next blog, we will be going back to our tour of Israel… More love at home!
