The last few Christmas seasons I tell the story about the lady I work with that dropped off a Christmas tree. She wanted to make sure we had a tree at my new home in Riverside.
I’ll tell that story again in detail come Christmas time.
I bring it up because the same lady gave me two tomato plants this spring for the balcony. They are getting close to their first BLT and Caprese salad. The thing is, I’ve never grown tomatoes before.
As a father I plant seeds everyday. The Shepkids don’t know it, but they have become a vast garden of JumboLove and Jumboisms. Forty years ago this was known as The Wrath of Don Shepley. The difference between the two generations is… I gently use my thumb and press the seed firmly. My Oldman pounded it into the ground.
I used to piss my dad off all of the time, but it was when I disappointed him that I felt bad.
I could take “You gotta be shitting me you stupid son of a bitch!”
But when he calmly said, “Son, I’m very disappointed in you.” That is when I felt horrible.
Life is full of disappointment, dead ends and closed doors. The cycle of life has its ups and downs.
On the ups we pick the flowers and harvest the vegetables. On the lows we plant seeds that will grow again.
The summer of ‘23 has been pretty mediocre. The one thing that has made the summer a little better has been watching my tomatoes grow.
Soon they’ll be picked and the pots filled with mums. The kids will be back to school. The t-shirt drawer will be replaced with sweatshirts and the leaves will crinkle on the lawn.
Don’t let getting older stop you from planting seeds. These Chalkboards can be considered seeds. Someday I’ll sit back and enjoy the beautiful garden that life has given me.
Until that day comes… I’ll just keep on grinding and keep on loving you.
'Cause it's the only thing I wanna do!
