Today was Booter's 2nd grade field trip. We went to a wonderful Life and Science museum a few counties away. It's a spectacular museum. I had never been, but had wanted to go for a while, and regret not going sooner. They have a HUGE butterfly house (Oh My LOVE), an interactive barnyard, a train, a nature walk, a garden, a playground full of sensory stimulation, an old caboose, a dinosaur walk with fossil dig, a space center, a food lab center (though I got into quite a heated debate about animal testing and processed foods (two separate debates)), a weather center, a math center, a sound lab, and on and on and on. It's really really really AWESOME!
I was a chaperone. They actually entrusted me with two other innocent children. What the freak were they thinking? LOL! On an up note, they think I am the most awesome mom ever! We shared our healthy all natural lunches with them (they had cafeteria lunches and I couldn't not share), taught them about healthy living, consideration, and simple acceptance. As a matter of fact, by the time the day was done, I had them both preferring water to soda, choosing fruit over candy, and the young gentleman was being exactly that! He was even racing ahead and opening doors for us three ladies, holding our hands as we crossed the street to protect us, and addressing adults and sir and ma'am. And they said he was a problem kid. I never expected him to be, and he lived fully up to my expectations. They truly made the trip an absolute delight and I would not have has it any other way! We had fun and did literally as much as humanly possible in the time that we had. I'm going to send them both a planter with some heirloom seeds when my order comes in as a thank you for being such delights and to foster the immense interest they both had in learning to garden REAL food... or as we had them calling it by the end of the day, DIRT CANDY! Seeing these children learn and live up to their potential truly filled my heart.
After the field trip was over and our museum buddies had boarded the bus and left, Booter and I enjoyed some one on one museum time. We went and did (almost) everything she wanted to spend more time doing when we had our companions and stuff we never even got to go do. We spent most of our time in the Butterfly House and the Fossil Dig (my pocket book as soooooo many shark teeth). On our (first) trip back to the butterfly house we saw many things we missed the first pass through. We were able to watch a butterfly emerging from its Chrysalis, wood partridges roaming hidden amongst the foliage, and a cocoa tree laden with ripe pods. WHAT!?!?! I was in serious lust! I have always wanted to try and make chocolate from scratch. I realize this will more than likely be an epic fail. But I still want to try. Going 100% unprocessed is hard... even harder when you take away chocolate. I asked one of the attendants about the pods and what they do with them. They said that they leave them there to rot on the tree (WHAT?!?!) for the butterflies, but they don't seem that into them. I asked if any ever fell and if they let guests take them. I got that all too familiar look that means I either spurted 3 horns and a tail or I asked a question they just couldn't fathom why I would ask that. So I explained to the gentleman what we were trying to do. He told me there were places online I could order the roasted beans and that they never allowed vivitors to have them. I must have looked REALLY disappointed because he actually asked me why I looked disappointed. LOL. I explained that we were trying to make all of our food from plant to table, if at all possible, and I had always wanted to try and make chocolate. He promptly climbed the tree (yup) and plucked me a wonderful yellow pod and went to explaining how to open it, what's all edible, and where to look online to learn to roast them. He then went on to tell us that he is from Germany and his mother used to do for him exactly what we are trying to do and that he thought that this had died with his mother's generation. He even told us that if someone asked about it to inform them that he had given it to us and he'd handle it from there. AWESOME! So now my pocket book held fossils, butterfly wing slides (from a class they held during the field trip), and a cocoa pod! I offered to bring him some of our chocolate (if I figured it out) and he declined saying that one pod wouldn't render that much and we should enjoy it ourselves. His gift was knowing that someone was taking care of teaching the next generation the proper ways. We shared a hug and I knew I would always remember our German Butterfly friend.
We went and dug for some more fossils, saw bears and a wolf on the nature walk, shared some water and apples, and went back to the butterfly house (Booter is fascinated by them (That's MY girl!)) and ran into the young woman who taught the butterfly class earlier in the day. She had apparently spoken to our German friend and wanted to know about what we're trying to do. I explained it all to her as well. She asked if we ever used herbs. That led me into essential oils, natural healing, a chemical free life, and making our own cleaning products and no poo. She was thrilled about the no poo idea (she has severe skin sensitivities and has a hard time with commercially prepared shampoos and conditioners). She then asked if we had herbs planned for our garden. I said yes (of course) but that I hadn't been able to order all the herbs I wanted. That they would have to wait. She asked then if we had any mint or lemon balm. I said that I had seen that their organic garden had them and that I was jealous. Those were two we did not get for this year. But while they could both over run a garden like no ones business, they are amazing container plants and I was hoping to get some with in the next year. She smiled and said she had a gift for us. A souvenir for our trip to the museum and something to help our family with it's goal of all natural homesteading. I thanked her (still not knowing what the gift was) when she handed me 2 wet paper towels (I was confused, but politely played along). She went on to tell me that on our way out of the museum we could pull up some mint and lemon balm to take home and that the paper towels were to keep the roots moist until we got home. HOLY CRAP!!! I almost burst into tears! What a wonderful and generous gift. I came expecting nothing but the gift of time with my beloved daughter and I had been given so many gifts already. Two amazing companions, a chance to teach by example through encouragement and love, precious little one on one time with Booter, a cocoa pod, and some organic herbs we didn't think we would have for a while. But it keeps going.....
As we were walking toward the playground and garden on our way out (already 20 mins after closing) we detoured to take the path that ran through the barn yard. In the Barnyard was a Duck. I don't remember what kind. It was white. Lol. They were in there mucking and cleaning the habitats from the day and feeding the animals. Booter and I were invited to held feed the duck when Booter noticed an egg in some straw. She picked it up and asked me if duck eggs were good to eat. I told her they were generally richer than a chicken egg and totally nom worthy. She asked if when we got settled if we would have ducks. I told her that we probably would someday, but that it was a long way off. As she handed the egg to the lady keeper, Booter said she would have to wait to have duck eggs, but that she couldn't wait. The lady looked at us and smiled and asked what she meant. I, once again, gladly explained our mission to eat and live simply and naturally and completely unprocessed. She smiled knowingly and asked us to wait a moment. She left into an area labeled employees only and returned several moments later holding an egg carton with a half dozen duck eggs! The ducks (there's more in the back?) have been laying well lately and they had been saving the eggs. She handed us this carton and wished us luck and told Booter she really hoped she enjoyed her duck eggs! I couldn't help it, as we left my eyes were filled with tears.
We stopped by the garden and as I pulled up my herbs and Booter ran through the playground one last time, I couldn't help but think of those herbs as life. Many people may look at those herbs as weeds. An intruding species that is crowding in on the goodness they try to cultivate around them. They can't see the good that is right there in front of them. My "garden" is full of these weeds, but I now know to see them for their blessing, their bounty. We spend so much time planning our garden that we feel so anxious at the thought of weeds, and start pulling before we know what we're removing. This morning today felt like a rushed chore of necessity. My well pruned and cared for garden of life. But just like a perfect garden becomes a chore, so does everyday. It becomes Life on a checklist. Lunch, check. Animals fed, check. Essential oils for insect repellant, check. Phone cord, get gas, long drive to museum, check , check, check. The thought of having the other kids felt like an intrusion into my garden. It's not the way I had it planned. I didn't want to explain to people what we were trying to do. I didn't want to educate strangers. I just wanted a fun day... not to have to worry about all these weeds, unwanted intrusions into my garden. But today I learned that the best bounty and blessings are the ones we don't expect, don't foresee. The ones we were so sure we didn't want in the first place. I sit here now, tears running down my face, thinking of how I fumed on my trip to the museum to have to share my time with someone else's kids. How aggravated I was to have to explain to the German man why I wanted that cocoa, to explain no poo to a stranger. How I almost pulled these amazing beautiful beneficial herbs from my garden before I stopped to even look and see what they were. How I thought that all of this was just weeds ruining my harvest. And I am so grateful that today I decided to just let the weeds go and enjoy the garden any way. Because, when it's all said and done, The best part of today is not what I left the museum with loaded into my pocket book. it was the little hand I held in mine and It was the herbs I didn't even recognize. It was the weeds.
I don't really have a step for you today, and for that I am sorry. I was a little busy learning to take a huge step on my own. But I will tell you this:
Today, I wish lots and lots of weeds!
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