stress relief for the stressers

One of my favorite peers (and everyone's favorite gunner*), Jimmy, asked me about my garden a couple months ago.  The conversation went something like this:

"So is your garden supposed to serve as a stress reliever for while you're in medical school?"

"Yes, what's yours going to be?"

"....beer."

He's that type of guy.  I appreciate his honesty --- and the fact that he can blow curves out of the water but is still willing to enjoy adult beverages with you on the weekends.  But back to the point.

Gardening, if all goes as planned*, is and will be my negative into positive energy converter.  I feel like I've been reborn every time I get dirt on my face and in my hair and under my fingernails, and then wash it off later.  And sweating up a storm while pulling weeds and shoveling out new rows is tiring ---- and feeling tired (meaning I'll definitely spend some quality time with REM later on that night) is healing.  And then, most importantly: gardening is rewarding... which just goes without saying.

Like I said, the perfect - to + converter, if you ask me.

So, in an effort to prolong the converter's battery life, I've planted a fall crop - in addition to my summer crop. The rewards list goes as follows:

Summer:

green bell peppers

chives

watermelon

tomatoes (cherry and normal sized)

zucchini squash

Fall:

broccoli

pumpkins

lettuce

peas

carrots

gunner: Over achievers.  Front row sitters. Hand raisers. Curve blowers.  Most are obnoxious as hell, but the few who aren't are delightful.

if all goes as planned: the aphids in my garden discontinue their proliferation.