Bushwacked!

So I decided to trim the bushes at my apartment this week. I have a little spot of garden and grass in front of my kitchen window that I like to call my own. In the garden, there is a big bush that happens to sit directly in front of the sprinkler head. Silly design if you ask me. But because of it, my grass and flowers get no water! If it were my own house, I'd take the bush out all together. But, it's not. So I did the next best thing. I grabbed my bush clippers and went at it. I didn't have a plan, I have never trimmed a bush before, I just had the clippers. Even though my intentions in cutting were to clear it from the sprinkler in the back, I started in the front since the bush has also overgrown into the grass. I just looked at the bush and started clipping. I clipped a couple of small little leaves with just a couple branches when I looked down at the bottom of the bush. I thought to myself, if I just clip that larger branch, I will save myself a lot of time.  So clip clip. And another clip, clip. I stood back to look at my work....um...ooops!!

It looked awful. Terrible. There were no leaves in front on the bottom of the bush. Instead all I saw were sharply cut angles glaring back up at me. I realized my mistake too late. I checked around me to make sure no landlord or angry neighbors were coming to get me. I tried to cover it up, but it wasn't working.  What should I do? Well, there wasn't much I could do.  I tried to weave the remaining leaves and branches down a little. I looked at the branches I had just cut, they sat poised like mini javelins, aimed and ready to fire.  I began to trim them downward so they weren't quite so hideous. I trimmed a little slower this time. I stepped back and took it in. Ok, so it was a hack job.

Oh well.

And that's the lesson! Oh well! I did the best I could. There was nothing I could do to replace those quickly snipped branches. It is going to take all summer to grow back and won't look good again until next spring. I could pity myself. I could avoid my neighbors and just hope they don't notice (Or at least say anything.) I could save some money to try to plant a new bush. Or. I could just learn my lesson. And move on. Next year, I'll know better. I'll start in the back, work to the sides, then carefully trim up--not whack off-- the front, growing branches. Oh, and I'll probably do it much earlier in the year so growing leaves will easily cover up any mistakes. But so often in life we make a quick decision, and it ends up being the wrong one. Oh well! This is all summed up in the over used cliche of "Don't sweat the small stuff."

You want WHAT??

I have just recently come across a heavenly food known as quinoa. I love it! I think it is just incredible--It's more versatile than soy! (No, I'm not a vegetarian, and I don't eat soy, it was just a comparison. Anyway) I use it for cereals, I replace the ground beef in tacos, the meat in spaghetti sauce, I add it to salads and desserts and anything else I can think of. It's not the taste I love--I usually try to cover it up anyway, it's the texture I think. It's just soo yummy! Anyway- This post isn't even about that. But! It's good. So try it.

Quinoa, for those of you who don't know like I didn't, quinoa looks like little bird seeds before it's cooked. The first time I tried it, I had about 3 cups of the stuff in a clear plastic bag and tied tight with a twisty tie (you know, from Winco). My 2 year old found it and was fascinated by it. He wanted to squish it and poke holes in the bag. We explored it a little, learned about it, and I have since cooked it, as mentioned, for many different meals.

I never thought much about it, but quinoa is a weird word--especially to a 2 year old. There is another weird word in our language that I bet you had never thought about when you heard quinoa!  I hadn't either. Until my sweet boy accidentally pointed it out to me.  We were looking for a snack one day and, observant as he is, saw the fruit on the counter. Excitedly he told me "I. want. Quinoa." ---interruption here: My boy has the cutest little voice and is still learning to put all his words together so often his sentences are quite choppy. I love to listen to him talk!--- I was surprised. "You want quinoa?"  I was hoping maybe he had started to appreciate the delicacy I had found. So I happily got out the  plain quinoa while scanning my brain of what to prepare with it.

"What do you want with your quinoa, bud?" I asked enthusiastically. He looked at my container. He looked at me.

"No. I. want. quinoa."

"Buddy, this is quinoa. What do you want with it?"

"No, mom. Hold me, I show you."

I think it's so cute when he says that. So I picked him up as he directed me towards the fruit bowl on the counter. He pointed his little finger, "Quinoa."

I had a random mix of tomatoes, avocados, pears, and a few fuzzy little green fruits called KIWIS!

I laughed out loud. I took the kiwi and confirmed that THAT is what he wanted.  I took the kiwi and cut in in half. Then I took the bowl of quinoa and showed it to him. "Kiweeee?" Yeah, Kiwi. There is a HUGE difference in kiwi and quinoa.

It was a funny minute, but it made me think. How often do we miscommunicate with just one syllable? That's on kind of a grander scale, but relating directly to my little boy, how much of the English language sounds so similar? It was an obvious reminder of how much he is still trying to learn. I mean, in less than 30 months, he has learned to do EVERYTHING. Walk, talk, eat, grow, get dressed, figure out computers, brush his teeth, play, etc. He is still just a tiny little baby, just barely learning to talk! Sometimes I forget how tiny he is. Have you ever tried to learn a language? There's a lot to think about!   This moment gave me insight again on how hard his little brain is always working! Just to talk takes incredible concentration sometimes. It was a funny little lesson to remind me that, even though he communicates with me pretty well and I usually know what he wants, he is still just a little baby! So be patient with your little babies, they've got a lot to figure out!