Don’t Golf Near Gardens

I actually took this with my iPhone at Lake Street Nursery!

Let me just start by saying , NEVER RUIN A PREGNANT WOMENS GARDEN!

It all started in mid June on a Saturday afternoon in the blazing hot sun. My neighborhood consists of modern houses that are formed into a private section of the town, with kids running from pool to pool while their parents sit back and have cocktails on the modern outdoor furniture that sits in the shade. Families are always out and about walking dogs, going for bike rides, and even taking runs with each other while they gossip about how good their kids are. The one thing the brings couples to my neighborhood to raise families is the way everyone makes you feel at home. No matter if you are walking or driving by in your car everyone waves, I mean everyone!

My neighbor Brandin, a 29 year old retired professional soccer player that acted like he was still in high school, had moved in about two years ago. His wife, Megan, an athletic built blonde who was his high school sweetheart was about 7 months pregnant with their second child. Brandin and I hit it off from the day we met. His athleticism and dedication to never loose (which made everything so competitive) was what made us so similar.

Brandin and I would always meet up in our yards when we were free and play this golf game that we named “bingo bungo”. The game was played with your sand wedge, a gold ball, and a soccer ball. Every round we would kick the ball in a random place, weather it was from my front yard to his, or from one side of his house to the other (Sometimes we had to hit it over the houses and by the cars which now that I think about wasn’t the smartest idea). After the soccer ball was placed at a location, we would try to hit our golf ball at the soccer ball. The one who hit it there in the least amount of tries won that round. We would play this games for hours a day.

Me hitting golf balls in my yard

However, one day when we were playing, the soccer ball was placed just passed Megan’s large garden that sat behind their large brick house. The garden wasn’t the most outrageous one I’ve seen but they loved having their fresh fruits and vegetables. After Brandin started this round off by placing his ball just short of his garden it was my turn to go. The decision going through my head was between two things. Do I land my ball short of the garden like Brandin and try to match him this whole round? Or do I go for the advantage and try to place the ball just past the garden and next to the soccer ball? Well being the stupid, cocky, competitive person I was around Brandin, I decided to go for it! As I took my shot and the ball came flying off my club, I knew it wasn’t going to make it over the garden. I glanced over at Brandin and back at my ball as it plunked into the soil that all their food was being grown in.

The thing about this game was you couldn’t move the ball after hitting it, not even a nudge unless you wanted to be disqualified and loose that round. Being the competitive little high school acting brat that Brandin was, he looked over at me and said, “Lets see what your made of, hit it out of the garden.” Already being down 5-3 against him, I didn’t want to lose this whole because I had to move my ball. I smiled right back at him and said, “watch and learn”. Well their was my cockiness again because I was obviously not using my brain. I think we sometimes forgot that it was just game for fun and that we weren’t the pros on TV. As I attempted to hit the ball out of he garden, I came down with my club taking not only the ball out but also half of Megan’s tomato plants with it. That’s when me and Brandin’s eyes shot up at each other. Not only was I scared because of what I did, Brandin knew his wife was going to yell at him too for being such a child.

Of course when Megan found out we ruined half her tomato plants playing a stupid golf game in her yard she wasn’t too happy. Being 7 months pregnant didn’t quite help the situation either. After yelling at us and lecturing about how hard she worked on that garden she stormed upstairs t her bedroom, telling Brandin to stay on the couch for the night. So me and Brandin stormed back outside to clean up the mess we made. For about the next month, Megan made Brandin and I go outside, no matter if it was in the hot sun or pouring rain everyday to work on her garden. Well lets just say we had some very nice tans for the rest of the summer!

Why My Little Sisters Now Eat Fruits And Veggies

Lexi (9) on the left and Molly (8) on the right gardening when they were younger

Like most kids, my two little sisters weren’t the biggest fans of fruits and vegetables. For young children like my sisters, Lexi and Molly , there are lots of different types of food they would rather eat then fruits and vegetables. I always remember sitting around my big rectangular kitchen table that overlooked our living room, and my mom would always have the constant struggle of having my sisters eat there fruits and veggies. She would have to threaten to take away there desserts or maybe even reward them with desserts in order for them to eat there veggies at dinner. This struggle would go on almost every night, however one day my mom found a solution. 

My Dad and Molly (left) and Lexi (Right)

My mom thought the idea of growing veggies on our own, in our house would help my sisters eat more vegetables. It’s the relationship factor. When someone grows something there-self, they are rewarded with there own food and will be happy to eat it, especially kids. That is exactly what happened. My mom got my sisters to grow their own veggies like cucumbers and tomatoes right above our kitchen sink that overlooked our big backyard. This was a changing point in our dinner conversation moving forward! The talk around the table shifted from arguing about eating vegetables to bonding about our days and telling funny stories. Growing veggies helped my family become closer! 

Lexi (9)

To this day my sister Lexi could eat cucumbers all day long. It gets to the point were we need to tell her to stop and eat something else! Every dinner I would look to the right of me and there they would always be! Her plate would be half full of cucumbers with her pile of ranch dressing next to them to dip into. The idea that my mom had of growing our own veggies helped my sister love cucumbers and eat more veggies! The relationship my sister made from growing her own food, made eating vegetables fun and a project! My family learned that growing our own vegetables and eating them made it more enjoyable and made ourselves proud in the results that came with it.