A mother's Oath: One about plants

I miss spring.

I miss it so much that I am willing to sacrifice a tiny bit of time and effort to bring it into my life. But how?

First, I thought I might buy fresh flowers every once in a while, but then I realized that I always feel sad for the poor flowers, so it kind of defeated the purpose. Pity, because that would have been an easy one.

And then, it dawned on me: I had those packets of herb seeds hidden in a drawer. My MIL gave them to me as a gift when I moved here (more than two years ago!), after she heard me say that I would love to have some herbs on the windowsill. Useful herbs, full of scent and flavor, that I could cook with. Parsley, mint, basil, thyme... and some lavender, that it's not that tasty but smells divine.

I loved the gift, but never got around to plant them. First, it wasn't the season. Then, I was pregnant and doctors around here want pregnant women to stay away from dirt and gardening. Then, Oath was born and I had other things on my mind: to prove it, I'll admit that the basil my mother bought me around that time died a sad death because I couldn't remember to water it for the life of me.

But now... now I have things a bit more under control, I'm starting to develop some routines (or so I hope!), so I was sure I'd remember to water them. And I've been dreaming of green for months, so it seemed the best moment to do it.

So I grabbed two pots (the one of the poor old basil and another one), prepared the dirt while Oath looked at me and babbled incessantly, and tore open two of the packets: parsley, because I've heard it's pretty indestructible, and basil, to redeem myself. Also, those were the two that the packs said could be planted earlier in the year.

The parsley. You can even make out some seeds if you look closely.

The new basil in the old basil's pot. Fingers crossed this one will make it!

Now they are basking in the late winter sun, next to their neighbor the aloe, the only plant I've managed not to kill since Oath's birth...

...except for a Phalaenopsis that, amazingly, thrived in my not-so-good care! My mother bought it a few days after Oath was born, full of flowers (with the basil... the poor basil) and it's been a fighter. The flowers lasted a month, and then it started growing new leaves and an aerial root (or whatever that is). Look at it now, so green! It gives me hope that I can do it.