Green Thumb or Consistency?
In August of 2023, my wife and I bought our first home. This was a momentous occasion as the two of us were used to moving from rental to rental every 2 years or so.
Home ownership has been such a wonderful experience—the pride that comes with making something your own.
Early on we decided that Julie would be in charge of the inside because she has such a keen eye for aesthetics, and I would tackle the outside because I craved getting a lawn mower back in my hands after 30+ years away from one.
The lawn needed some major work.
Our early days in the home were spent with Ezekiel and me walking around the house pulling weeds and being amazed at the size of the roots.
“Dad, look at the size of this one!”
He’d pick up sticks with me.
Sweep with me.
And even get out his little green rake when I’d have mine out.
The day we bought our lawn mower, Ezekiel was right next to me with his bubble-blowing one.
We were out there all the time and it often felt like nothing was getting done.
My older brother is a lawn master and I was on the phone with him all the time in the fall asking him questions.
“When should I put down fertilizer?”
“What do I need to do after I put grass seed down?”
“What kind of mower should I buy?”
He was my consultant because as the pictures below show, we had our work cut out for us.
It’s funny, you can often get caught up in the details—focusing on what’s not working—and lose sight of all the progress that you’ve made.
This spring, once all the snow melted, we got back to work on the lawn.
Thatching.
Raking.
Seeding.
Watering…
…and watering…
…and watering.
It’s been a true labor of love. Yet, the perfectionist in me kept seeing the spots that weren’t filling in or where the weeds were still present.
But then someone—for me, it’s always Julie—gets me to take a step back and see the forest through the trees.
On Tuesday, she sent me the old and current pictures of our lawn and my jaw dropped.
Transformation happens when we take little steps on a consistent basis over a long period of time.
Transformation happens when we are consistent.
And confidence from that transformation happens when we take our current blinders off and recognize where we came from.
So, no, it’s not about a having a green thumb.
It’s not about having talent.
It’s not about gifts.
It’s not about luck.
But, it is about consistency.
With the lawn—or any other thing that you are working on.
Consistency is key!