Seeds for Seniors

Okay, second time I post identical posts. Sorry, but this one is important, to me.

I want to suggest an idea to everyone, and since I like to dream big, to everyone in the world. Okay, if it spread in the US, it would make me happy.

I like to garden but have always just planted enough to keep us, in tomatoes, hot peppers and green onions. This year I added my watermelons to the mix and I do have about five but I do not know if they will ever get big enough to eat before the weather gets too cold. When mom moved in with us, I threw in an extra tomato plant or two for her.

Now that she lives in an income based senior’s apartment building, I have been taking a box of tomatoes to her and she picks what she wants out of it. I planned on putting the remainder on the table in the entertainment room. Some stores will bring over breads and such and leave them there, so I figure whoever wanted tomatoes could have some fresh garden ones.

But, I only get as far as the elevator, from mom’s apartment. The ladies on the second floor are all over me for my tomatoes. I never saw them move so fast. It’s almost like Christmas to them. A lot of these seniors are totally alone in the world and they do not eat that balanced of a diet.

So, next year, besides starting seeds indoors, I am going to plant as much as I can take care of and take the extra to their building. Without having a lot of money to give, it’s a way I can feel like I am contributing to society and enriching their lives. Not only does it help them to eat a better diet (and believe me, they need help with that) but it lets them know someone cares.

So, how about it? Do you have income based senior housing in your town? Do you have a garden plot? You will bring joy and nutrition to an elderly person by just planting a couple extra tomato plants and donating the leftovers. And, when you see the delight in their faces and how fast those tomatoes disappear, I bet the next year you add more to your garden too.

So, what can we call this? We need a catchy name, like Seeds for Seniors or Tomatoes – no, never mind, that’s not a good one. Hey, and maybe someone is doing this already. It is along the lines of planting a garden in your front yard for the neighborhood to enjoy, like CrazyAuntPurl: The edible lawn...? talked about.

The Butterfly Garden

I have just read an incredible book. It is The Butterfly Garden, a Memoir by Chip St. Clair.

As a child, Chip was raised by abusive parents. I am not going to give any of the stories away, but it is abuse by a man who was evil and sadistic and, in my opinion, a mentally ill mother.

That he survived at all, is a miracle, and he has shared his story with the world, as well as his break-through recovery.

This is a special cause for me, as I find abuse in my own family. I am now raising, well they are almost raised at 21, 19 and 16, three abused boys. I see, on a daily basis, how this background haunts them. They struggle with many things the rest of us take for granted. They are seeing a clinical psychologist, and have all had flashbacks from Post Traumatic Stress.

They were robbed of their childhood and education, and they hold a constant fear as to what is happening to their siblings. They sit and reminisce about being locked in closets and beaten with horse cinches. I am hoping that, Mr. St. Clair’s book can help them learn how to recover and I recommend it as a must read by everyone.

How many times have you said to yourself, “I wonder what goes on in that home?” Don’t just say it. Become informed. Go to some of the websites Chip lists as resources. Get involved. Do not sit back and wait for someone else to report it. It’s hard enough to get anything done about it; believe me, I know.

Children are too precious to ignore.

P.S. I want to thank http://www.crazyauntpurl.com/ for the give-away I won this book on. It will mean a lot to my family