Diary of a tomato plant

I do not know how old I really am, so I am just going to say I am One Day old. Although Jeff and Ranya brought me home two Saturdays ago, I remained sitting in my confined little pot until this morning when Ranya finally moved me to my new home and that is why I am going to call this Day One.

I think one reason why it took the Mikes so long to move me was because my new home was not ready yet. But then you would think how hard can it be to make me a bed of potting soil and water it? It might not be that difficult but Ranya and Jeff are busy people and they had been taking road trips away from the city the past couple of weeks, so it took them a while to get back to the gardening store and get another bag of potting mix.

Two Saturdays ago, the Mikes went to Amish country in Pennsylvania and Ranya got to see real Amish people. They were different, she thought, and she was very surprised to realize that they do, in fact, ride buggies to places they wanted to go. That was very interesting, she thought, and she was glad to have experienced the sights, the sounds and the smells of a different place. Jeff, too, was happy to get out of the city where it is busy and loud. It is important for him to get away from it all every once in a while and the road trip was refreshing.

Last Sunday, which also happened to be Jeff’s birthday, they drove to Rehoboth beach in Delaware. While it may not have been the prettiest, it was the closest to their domicile. They had had a late start, while with having breakfast at Leopold’s and all, so they wanted to go somewhere relatively close. The drive was again enjoyable up until they arrived closer to the beach where they hit a horrible traffic jam. As soon as they found a parking spot (which they paid $10 for) and turned pedestrian, they unwound and had a good time. On their way back home they took a pit stop at some friends’ house in Annapolis, had a barbecue dinner and then returned home, exhausted and smelly! Why, it was almost 90degrees that day and they were out in the car and the sun all day.

So now that the weekend is over I am finally settled. I know I am going to get plenty of sun and I know that Ranya will come back and visit and water me often. I just hope I get pruned regularly to stay healthy and pretty and bear fruit.

beach and mountain

There might be another place in the world where this is possible: sitting on the beach and watching the snow-covered mountains. There might be another place in the world where you can sit ajacent to the splashing waves enjoying a coffee on a warm winter day. There might be another place in the world where people come together to celebrate the wonders of the World and the glories of the Earth. But for me there is no other place; no place other than that where I belong. No place like Lebanon.

on children

"this is for all mothers, and futures mothers, out there. some of you have learned this the hard way and some are yet to learn...."

"And a woman who held a babe against her bosom
said, Speak to us of Children.
And he said:
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow.
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
The Archers sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and HE bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the Archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable."

Gubran Khalil Gubran- The Prophet

blue, iris, view

This is the reason I fell in love with Portland....














And, why I now miss it so much.

The sky has not been that blue or that clear since we left for DC. Here, the horizon is crowded by one concrete park after the other; green and blue are distant objects and silence is a rare commodity. Hundreds of motor vehicles compete for the streets and thousands of feet for the sidewalks. The air is constantly filled car horns, police, ambulance and fire truck sirens, airplanes whizzing and helicopters flying over. Smog and pollutants stink the surroundings and humans and non-humans are always moving in one direction or another. Smiles are always reserved for a selected few and courteousness is a rare commodity.

Yes, welcome to DC: the land of the plenty – of self-important people that is. Some people are in love with DC, some people are indifferent to DC, and some are just passersbies....

on marriage

"the following is an excerpt from Gubran Khalil Gubran's greatest work: The Prophet. It is the section that Jeff and I chose to read during our wedding ceremony almost two years ago. I was going through my old files again and came across it and thought I would share it."

Then Almitra spoke again and said, And what of Marriage, Master?
And he answered saying:
You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.
Ay, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.

Love one another, but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf.
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.

Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.