Besides being an avid gardener and consumer of all things gardening, I am a stay-at-home mom. I have a son who is 6 years old and in first grade. My daughter is 2 3/4 years old and in preschool. I have my own unofficial "life parameters" in order to keep our chaotic world a little more orderly. For example, on Monday mornings, I pick up and straighten the entire house. You will understand when I say that when the brood and Hubby are home for the weekend, it is impossible for me to keep ahead of the destruction that three other people create. So I've learned to never expect the house to be straight on Saturdays and Sundays. Monday I will once again be the "mrs.-of-all-I-survey." On Saturdays and Sundays that is a hopeless task.
Well, I've applied certain of my "staying-at-home and just-trying-to-make-it-through-the-day" philosophy to gardening. In my efforts to rationalize a desire to stay an earth-friendly parent/gardener, I justify myself in the following ways.
A Stay-at-Home Mom's Top 5 Reasons to Go Organic
5. Nature is the Great Educator. Kids love animals. Synthetic pesticides often kill the very bugs and animals that will entertain your children for hours. Why eliminate such excellent playmates? Son and Daughter have loved the turtles, skinks, lizards, frogs, toads, hummingbirds, butterflies, hawks, bats, deer, rabbits . . . all which have visited our yard . . . These little critters keep Son and Daugher occupied for hours, so I have time to peruse my latest issue of The English Garden. Organics Educate!
4. Save on future medical bills. All those extra appendages that synthetics cause -- a nightmare in medical bills to remove! Nationalized healthcare - bah! Organics are safer.
3. Organics are available in almost every gardening section in any store. When I shop with my kids, the fewer the stops the better. "It's a pain to get the kids out of their car seats again" . . . no longer a legitimate excuse. Organics keep you out of the chiropractor's office for backpain . . . Daughter weighs 36 lbs - a hefty sum for the car seat/wrestle-mania smackdown.
2. We don't even need to go to the zoo, children's museum, science museum . . . it's all in our backyard! No admissions fees that add up to more than the dividends on your stocks. Organics save money on entertainment and gas, too.
1. The look on Son's face when you explain that you're spreading blood, ground up fish, and/or poop in the garden beds . . . imagine the range of looks he'll give you. . . shock, disgust, then slowly, here it comes . . . admiration. He says to his friend, "Hey dude, my mom is spreading blood all over my yard. Isn't that totally cool? Come check it out." Organics make you the coolest mom in the neighborhood.
I live for moments like that . . . and for getting my hands dirty.
