Seeds in good soil
We've been doing a lot in our garden recently – knocking down the falling-down shed and building a new fence (Jonny's department), but also planting out a few things, enjoying watching other things grow and taking lots of pretty photos (my department). (The children have been involved in both of the above, as well as creating an even bigger mud bath out of the part of the garden which could once have been called a 'lawn'.) It's got me thinking about planting and growing and the cycles of life generally. It's reminded me that gardening is one of my favourite metaphors for parenting – what seeds are we planting day by day in our children's lives? What words of encouragement are we sowing? How are we nurturing the shoots of curiosity and kindness, creativity and goodness which we want to see grow and come to full flower in their lives? How are we guiding and cultivating good and healthy habits, like upright canes which allow runner beans to climb towards the su...