Last summer we started a Garden Box project in the back yard, partially because we wanted more garden space. Partially because the grass on our upper area had been taken over completely with fescue grass and we wanted to tear the whole thing out. It took us all summer, but we got the grass torn out, the dirt leveled, the boxes installed (with drainage system from roof gutter), and rock/gravel placed. I knew that if I wanted to have them ready to plant a garden in them this summer I needed to order dirt even though we weren't really prepared.
I called, ordered 5 cubic yards of dirt, and then told David. He was a little surprised because he's really busy with work right now and was a little worried because he wasn't going to have much time to help over the next couple of weeks. (Including one travel-trip where he would be gone.) But I was determined and I worked hard to move load after load of dirt (before we started our homeschool, after we were done with homeschool, while the kids were eating lunch and while the kids were playing outside, ect... Whatever group of minutes that I had, I worked on it. (Note: I listened to the audiobook of Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe, which is a non-fiction book about the start of heavy perscription pain killers and abuse and the family that benefitted from the pain and addiction of people across america. Although it was incredibly long, it was both fascinating and awful.)
I got started loading dirt into the garden boxes and I realized that if I wanted to add a trellis into my garden boxes, I needed to add it before I put the dirt in. Thus started the second stage of Shantel's stubborness. I called my dad to talk through how I could get a 4'x16' pig-panel home from the local Tractor Supply company to use for my trellis. (I had looked at dozens of trellises online and nothing was both in my price range and what I was looking for. I had determined that this fencing panel would be the best thing.) We talked through how to attach it to the top of my van and even watched several youtube videos about how to bring a fence panel home with a minivan. But it all seemed like a lot of work. When I asked, "But do you think I could fit it in my van - the answer was a hesitant NO. But me, knowing my van as well as I do, I thought it was possible. I convinced David to just TRY (determined that it would fit, out of force of will). We snuck out that very night after bedtime (leaving Lydia in charge) and ran over to Tractor Supply. We spent a good amount of time analyzing the panel, David unbeliving, and me insisting that it would fit. Finally, we asked if we could take one to our car and just try to fit it before purchasing it. A worker helped us unlock the panels and helped carry it over to our car. With an impressive amount of bending, it SLID RIGHT IN. There were less than 2 inches to spare. I was so excited I was hopping up and down with joy! We bought the panel, marco poloed my dad on the way home, and celebrated by letting the kids come and see. It looks like a dog cage or something, but it's my trellis! Yay. This is the thing about me being stubborn. Sometimes it's a problem and the thing that I want just dosn't work out and causes me a significant amount of extra effort and frustration. BUT SOMETIMES, that stubborness pays off and is the only way that situation would have worked out. This is one of those times that my stubbornness paid off!
Finally the dirt was all in the boxes, and we were ready to plant our garden. We took the kids to the store and let them each pick something to plant. We ended up with pumpkins (Lydia), carrots (Austin), Honeydew (Caleb), Watermelon (Lucy), plus tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, strawberries, and blueberries. A real garden this year! I am so so happy about it.
(Look at that tiny pile of dirt. I was SO happy when I moved the very last load of dirt!)
