gardening equals sanity!!

Hi, my name is Julia and I am a....gardener! Isn't that how most addict meetings start? Gardening is my therapy, maybe even my drug of choice! But one thing is for sure, its my sanity!

The escape of a quiet garden, the feeling of accomplishment, There really is no greater feeling than to have an idea and see it come to fruition, even if it is just clearing a garden bed of weeds or turning the compost over. Seriously, when you stand back and see the finished result, the feeling and "high" of achievement is amazing! Ahh, the tranquil, soul filling me time without interruption...priceless!

Yeah right!! Mom, whats for dinner? Mom, Thomas is looking at me funny! Mom! Mom! MOM!
Is it wrong to admit that there are days all I want to do is lock myself outside, to escape with my plants in a moment of peace. To ignore reality and retreat into my simple joy!

I really do love my boys, more than I ever thought possible! I have been blessed with two of the sweetest, loving, caring little guys...Thomas 5 and Harrison 8. They really are the joys of my-life (most of the time! And when they're not, wine helps too...lol!)
Last year, Harry my oldest was diagnosed with Autism after years of uncertainty, its been a crazy time to say the least. My life now revolves around the many needs and constant learning that comes with this diagnosis, to the point were it was becoming my identity too. I seemed to have lost who I was, I had no time for what my passions and interests were/are anymore. I was being swallowed-up and disappearing by this thing called Autism. There was very little sense of accomplishment, always feeling like I was failing my son, not to mention it was unpredictable, irrational and totally impulsive with lows and lower lows...depression sunk in!

Time for a change...Getting back to my love and finding balance in life once again. Now, when I am not enduring enjoying the craziness. From the highs of sweet moments filled with love, laughs and smiles to the lows of the torturous screaming, tantrums and messes.
You will find me out in the garden as a gardener...escaping the later and doing something for the sanity.

To me, gardening is rewarding in all the typical ways, seeing something grow, creating something beautiful...etc, But it is also (and I'm sure for so many of you) something a lot more. It is who we are! It is our happy place! Its our identity and our passion! Its were you can be you, with no feeling of failure, no constant demands, with no never-ending messes created by others to be cleaned...It provides a sense of accomplishment, It fulfills us!

.....Its pure, Its simple joy and its my sanity!