"Papa, please don't forget to water my plant daily..."

 

"Papa, please don't forget to water my plant daily..."

...reminded my 7 yo daughter over the phone.

The school gave a project to grow a plant & report the progress. While it's been my wish to be able to grow some vegetables at home, have not been able to do it. So I was all excited too when the assignment came. On Saturday I tried to find which plant grows the quickest (we had to report progress from day 5 onwards) but was clueless. Eventually we went to the nursery to buy a pot & soil & asked the guy there. He suggested we go with mung.

Saturday night we soaked some mung & Sunday morning we did what was instructed by the teachers. 1) Fill half pot with soil 2) Sprinkle the seeds 3) Top it off with more soil 4) Water daily. Day 1 was done.

Day 2 I saw one of the mung seeds trying to escape! So I pushed it back in & we watered it.

Day 3 I saw some soil was displaced. We had patted the soil well yet some of it moved. The kid had to go to her granny's place so before going she gave me an important responsibility - "water & look after the plant till I am back."

Day 4 I could see some signs of a plant sprouting up, but I was concerned to see that that the soil was all over the place! As if someone had tried to dig the soil out! We have cats in the society. Since a month, we have seen one of them climb up & move in the grills. I was sure this was the cat's mischief! I quickly got some soil, added it to the pot & patted it. The sprouts that were trying to come out got buried but I was sure they would grow better with more soil.

Day 5 the sprouts had sprung up a bit again but once again the soil was displaced! The cat was at it again! But this time I decided to just water it. Clicked a snap & sent it to the kid to show the day 5 progress (day 5 was to be documented).

Day 6 (today) I wake up & see this wonderful sight. Cute little greenshoots have sprung up. The soil was further displaced. I quickly took a snap and proudly reported the progress to my 7 yo boss.

It was only then it struck me that it wasn't the cat after all! From the day we planted the seeds, it was the plant that was trying to find its way out. The green shoots could not shoot out unless it displaced the finely patted soil. These tiny beings that look so feeble & vulnerable, actually have so much strength to break out of the soil, displace it & take the first steps towards growth. It is really quite incredible how they find their way out, inspite of the heavy layer of soil covering them.

Such is life. Starts off with a tiny, vulnerable form. Pushes through layers of darkness only to finally witness light. This not just applies to the 9 month journey when we take birth, but probably applies everytime we start fresh with anything - a new school, new skill, new job, new project or something that needs us to start from scratch - from the seed stage, as we prepare to displace the soil covering us to grow out & prosper in the bright sunlight.

My sincere apologies to the cat.

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