The Birds and The Bees Amid The Lettuce and Peas (clever, aren't I?)

Over the past few weeks, the garden has been a bit of a respite for me and Olivia. It's a place where we can hang out alone (the boys don't really want to play with the plants - they prefer running wild elsewhere) and talk about the everyday stuff of life. There's something very cathartic about being out there, and I have discovered that Olivia is more apt to talk openly about her life and thoughts outside rather than inside.

Yesterday she came home from school in a rather pensive mood. I was scrambling to get lots done in not enough time. After she finished her homework, she asked if I wanted to go out to the garden. I lightly said no - too much to do right now. So she headed out alone.

A few minutes went by, and I heard her little voice timidly ask if I wanted to just come out and talk. There was something about the tone of her voice that told me I needed to drop everything and go. And so I did.

I got out there, and asked "What's up?" She proceeded to tell me some silly anecdotes from her day. And then fell silent. A moment later, she hesitantly told me she wanted to talk about the "S" word, that she had heard some things and wanted to talk about it.

I've been thinking for months that I needed to have "THE TALK" with her...she's almost 10, and I knew I wouldn't be able to put it off for much longer.

As we were finishing up the serious conversation, she looks at me and says "I really like your shirt. Is it new?" I answered that yes, it was new and I was glad she liked it. Then she asks "Did you pick a radish? 'Cause it looks like one is missing." That signified the end of our conversation - not a purposeful subject change on her part, just an acknowledgement that she felt secure and satisfied with what we'd talked about, and that was that. When we turned to walk back into the house, she looked at me and said that she was glad she had a mom that she could talk to about that kind of stuff. And I breathed a big sigh of relief that I hadn't botched that first talk...and said a silent prayer of thanks that she felt safe in talking to me.

If that's the only harvest from this garden we've planted, it will be worth every ounce of effort, and then some.