Perseverence from the kids

They had the faith that their daddy did not have..

They believed that if you plant a seed and keep watering it daily.. someday, someday a plant will grow..

They laughed back when their parents told them that some plants will not grow in northern California because they are not meant to be!

But...

The day after they left for India, we were surprised to find a mango spouting!

Let us see if this will survive and become a tree....

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Barking dogs and curry plants

A joke my dad would tell us (which I did not understand for a long time as a kid)...

Two men are standing at the gate outside a house, where there is a dog in plain sight.
Man 1: Look the dog is barking loudly. Don't you know the saying "Barking dogs Seldom Bite!". Open the gate and go in!
Man 2: You know that, I know that. Does the dog know that?

Something similar happened in our house recently. We have been taking care of a "curry leaf" plant for the last six months. Prior to this plant, we had three curry plants (all about 3-4 inches tall) which were brought all the way from Houston, Texas. After taking care of those plants for a full three years (shuttling it indoors in the nights and in winter to avoid killing them when temperatures go below 60F!), we managed to grow them to a full 4-5 inches! Not kidding you here. Do not know the magic formula for growing a curry plant.

The latest plant has grown a full 2 inches in six months and that is refreshing. We water the plant sparingly, don't put anymore tea leaves into the pot, give it a dash of Miracle grow, etc. etc. The plant gets better treatment than the people, fishes in the house. Even Jr. and the little one remind the adults to keep the plant in the sun during the day and bring it inside the house during the night.

San came to the kitchen this morning beaming. She was also humming some tunes. On questioning her, it came to light that she had been singing to the most pampered person in the house, the curry plant!

She had heard that singing to plants makes them grow better. My response was "You know that and I know that, but does the plant know that?"

Then I thought "Oh my god, she is singing in aba-swaram! (off key). What if the plant does hear her song and wilt or die?" and went on to find out that I had been thinking aloud!

Let us just say that the comment was not received very well and lot of amends had to be made!

Did I tell you that I am married to a nightingale?

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Too much love

Jr. got a homework assignment from her school. They gave her two germinated seeds (just germinated!), in a cup with her name on it.

The goal: Learn how plants come from seeds.
How : go home, ask your parents to put some dirt in the cup, put the seeds, water it and watch it grow and as bring it back to school.

I promptly put some mud from the backyard, planted the seeds, while mommy watered it in front of Jr. and grandma pitched in by saying "sunlight is very important. lets keep it on the window sill with the rest of the plants".

Jr. of course was learning another hidden lesson, zen style. The plant does not grow instantly. Every 5 minutes she would go look for a plant. After my repeated answers of "it takes some time to grow", she reduced the frequency to every hour or so..

The next morning, she went first to look for her plant! Still no plant. She was disappointed. I told her "Trust me. In two days there will be a plant!".

Four days later, this is what we have in the cup!

Yes. Looks like the seed has become fungus fodder!

Looks like Jr. is not the only one learning lessons here. Apparently, with the responsibility of not disappointing the poor kid, all the adults in the house, have been showering love on Jr., by indirectly showering the cup with water! Three people watering the seeds everytime they go near the kitchen sink was too much for the seedlings!!

Lessons learned :

Jr.:
Plants maybe grow from seeds?
If they grow, they need the seed, soil, water, sunlight.
It takes a long time for plants to grow, longer if grown by adults.
I hope all the other parents did the same thing with the seeds!

Mommy, grandma :
From now on only daddy does these activity homeworks.

Daddy :
My name is in the mud now, literally!!

I am sure there will be a lot more plants to grow, butterflies to incubate, cakes to bake etc. etc. in the coming years. Hope I get better at supporting those projects!

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