Learning from the Early Spring

by Richard S. Kordesh

Like the raspberries that will grow in front of our garage, this very early spring brought forth a sweet, yet somewhat tart, flavor. The warmest March on record reminded us of climate change, but also freed gardeners to turn their beds early. It is inspiring to see the young apple tree next to our front steps flowering. The same goes for our pear trees and the cherries: Their buds blossomed into graceful white petals in mid-March!

Now that the unseasonably warm weather has invited all of this blooming, it had better hold! We will grow a variety of fruits on our 40-ft. x 175-ft. lot, including three kinds of apples from dwarf trees, two types of pears, two kinds of cherries, blueberries, strawberries, the aforementioned raspberries, and we hope, kiwis.

As the saying goes, “Children learn what they live.” Our kids assumed that food grew right outside the door. This season, we have the honor of sharing this bounty with our young Chinese guest, LeRong Deng, and her mother, Mo Ju.

Mother and daughter have already planted flower seeds in a pot on our deck. Once again, my wife Maureen and I can walk the garden with an eager child in hand. The earlier season affords these teaching opportunities, even as the earth instructs us about her fragile health in the small spaces of our yard.

What teaching opportunities do you have for kids in your home or community?

Guest blogger Richard S. Kordesh is the author of Restoring Power to Parents and Places and has worked professionally in the community development field for 35 years.

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My Journey from 200lbs Back to 150lbs: March

by Craig Ervin

Another month down and 31 days closer to achieving my ultimate goal!

Last month I talked about using your goals to motivate. In June, I’ll be participating in an extremely physical event: my first Tough Mudder run. Knowing this has certainly helped push me along in my efforts!

However, after my latest weigh in, I’m beginning to question if I’ll meet the weight goal that I set for myself.

At the end of February, I reported that I had an additional 28 pounds to lose to reach my goal of 50 pounds lost by June. In the month of March, I lost 5.5 pounds. This brings me to a total weight loss of 27.5 pounds lost! But this leaves me 22.5 pounds left to go. 

Doing the quick math, it would seem that the odds are against me. My hope was to have lost the 50 pounds by the end of June. Last month, the screech of the brakes on my weight loss confused me, but after seeing some results this past month, I believe I understand what’s going on: I’ve concentrated so much on weight training in prep of my June event that I believe my muscle gain has offset my weight loss.

Trust me – I’m certainly not complaining!

As with any journey, time has the potential to reshape our original vision and intent. I am still going to work towards my ultimate goal of losing 50 pounds, but I’m allowing myself the possibility that I’ve approached this journey a bit different than my last strut down weight-loss lane, which will result in accomplishments that I had not originally focused on.

Do you notice your goals sometimes reshape themselves? How so?

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