Definitions

It is exactly the right temperature and humidity outside. The wind stirs around me and is a welcome friend instead of a bother. The sky cloudy and the birds eager to share the news. It is morning.

I'm sitting out on my balcony, taking the sights around me. My patio paradise is chugging along. My calendula flowers are blooming, peppers are reddening, and the never-ceasing strawberry plants are pushing their runners along the wooden floor and inviting themselves into their neighbors' potted homes.

It is mornings like these that I feel most like a farmer. I imagine know that  if I were looking out over my own rolling hills and trees, I would feel just as I do in this moment. As I look out over my balcony, I am filled with gratitude for what lays before me. Though I cannot work the land of my own, I feel a kinship to the setting before me. This land gives to me and I, in return, give back. And that, in my world, is the definition of a farmer.

I wonder if it's the definitions that matter to us. What are we always asked as a child? What do you want to be when you grow up? As we grow into ourselves, we continuously define who we are based on that seemingly simple question. I think it's important to ask ourselves regularly how we define our lives and if that definition makes us happy. And, if it doesn't, I think we can change it. We just have to change how we define who we are. I was a mother through my actions and thoughts long before Gavin came along. And my Patio Paradise is teaching me that I can feel and act like a farmer without land to call my own.

Today I'll try to be who I really want to be and I'll watch my world transform around me. I think it might be that easy.