Growing Up

I've been on these here islands for six months now and am preparing to leave in just two short days. My time here has been exactly what I needed and nothing that I had expected. For one glorious half-year I have not needed to worry about work, bills, relationships or much of anything other than how to get my tomatoes to ripen and how many beers to drink at the beach. Talk about relaxation therapy. So now I'm headed back to the hustle and bustle of the mainland, or as I have been referring to it in my head, the real world. I will need to find gainful employment, rent a house, pay bills and enter once more into the rat-race of life. I am both ready and anxious.

To soothe my worried soul, I've been spending a little more time in the garden lately than usual and find that it calms me more than ever. I have grown things with my hands. My attention to detail and delight in small things has expanded by caring for these little seedlings and noticing their changes day by day. And as I look back, I realize that I have helped to create something beautiful and big in my time here. When I arrived at the retreat that has become my home, there was just some dirt and myself. I was the first WWOOFer here and I have helped to create both a beautiful garden and a volunteer program to sustain it. I wanted to share these pictures of my daily work area both to remind myself of how far I've come and to show all of you the beautiful place that I have spent my days these past months.

August 2009

January 2010