Spring 2025: Planting seeds

They say April showers bring May flowers. They don’t mention the weeds. Or the overgrown to-do list. Or the feeling of being in over your head with one big yard, two working parents, and three small kids.

This spring hit harder than I expected. Now that we’re fully settled into our home after last year’s renovation, there’s no more excuses like “we’re still getting the place together.” It’s time to show up and take care of the property.

But any time I try to sneak outside for even five minutes of progress, I hear the footsteps. Little shadows with shovels asking, “Dad, can we do some hard work, yard work with you?”

If you just said, “Aww that’s adorable,” you’re not wrong.  It is always adorable to start. But nothing derails a yard project like Jack swinging a rake at Charlie. Or Payson climbing into a wheelbarrow full of soil while Jack tries to roll it.  Or when Charlie learns the hard way that “Every rose has its thorn” when picking flowers for Mother’s Day.  Or when Jack digs a hole in the mulch that I just raked because he’s trying to “Plant a tree” with the apple core that he just ate for snack.

Then, 10 minutes into the messy chaos, the distractions really set in.  “Dad, can we ride our bikes? Can you push me on the swing?  Can you get out my baseball bat? Can you buckle my helmet? Can we go to Mimi’s? Can we chase the geese? Can you charge my tractor battery?  Can you attach my trailer to my tractor? Can we have another snack?” Or Payson’s favorite- “Dada! Uppppieeezzzz!”

I’ll be honest—there have been moments this month when I’ve dreamed of a calmer future.   To a weekend 5 years down the road with independent 11, 9, and 6 year olds who aren’t interested in helping out and just fine entertaining themselves. To a chapter of my life with manicured landscaping and plenty of time to cut the grass. To a life where the kids throw their apples in the trash instead of in the hole that they just dug in the mulch bed.

But in the middle of all the “May-hem,” I read a question from Sahil Bloom’s 5 Types of Wealth that stuck with me.

“If your life was a movie, and you were the main character, what would the audience be screaming for you to do right now?”

Probably not: “You need to do a better job with the landscaping.”

Probably something closer to: “Dude, Enjoy it!

This home. The fleeting moments.  These little helpers. 

You’re living the vision you’ve always dreamed of.  Don’t lose sight of that through all the overgrowth.” 

I’ll resign to the fact that I’m not winning any homeowner awards this spring (sorry, neighbors). But I hope I’m doing a decent job at the more important stuff. 

Because here’s the thing—we are planting seeds. Not just in the yard, but in my kids. In the value (and fun) of doing the hard work together—even when you end up with a messy flower bed, overgrown crab grass, and a pile of mulch dumped in the wrong spot.

The weeds can grow a little longer under the white pines. That’s fine. But these moments with my kids? These messy, muddy, maddening moments? They’re going fast.  And there will inevitably come a day when they’re no longer interested in helping/hanging out. 

So I’m trying—trying—to trade the frustration for presence. To say yes when they ask to help. To laugh when they get in the way or even when I see a trail of dirty footsteps from the garage to the snack pantry.

Because maybe they’ll remember the spring days when we did “hard work, yard work” together.  And I’m confident that if I focus on what matters most, something beautiful and strong will blossom from the seeds that we’re planting during this season of life.