Don't give up

We have been gardening now for gosh knows how many years, and every year it's the same old song and dance. Weeds! Gardening would be an absolute blast if it wasn't for weeds. Marge and I spent probably 20 minutes the other morning hoeing by our zucchini plants. She has a 6-inch Rogue hoe and mine is a 10-inch Rogue hoe. Awesome hoe, and for just cleaning the soil of weeds, it's probably the best I've ever used. But the thing is, not 10 minutes after we quit hoeing, weeds were in the process of sprouting and growing right back where we hoed.

Weeds in our corn and in our turnips and in our potatoes and on and on. We drove by a garden two weeks ago and it really looked nice. No apparent weeds or grass. Drove by it a couple days ago and there was no dirt showing. It was all weeds and grass. Discouraging to say the least. And we don't grow certain veggies simply because of the weeds. We don't grow vining crops on the ground like watermelon or cantaloupe because of the weeds. We love to grow sweet potatoes and quit for years. We tried it this year when a friend gave us some slips. Darned deer ate every one and pulled up even the roots. He left tracks. Come fall I'll do my best to eat him or her. But there are times when I feel like throwing in the towel and letting someone else fight the weeds. Every year we try new ways of dealing with the weeds. Some help while other ways flop. But one thing seems to stand out is that as soon as our garden is done this year I'm planning next years.

Marriage is like this. A couple gets to know each other and falls in love and decides to spend the rest of their lives together. And everything is peachy and coming up roses. But darned if life doesn't happen and things start happening and before you know it there is a rift between them. May not be a big rift, but still a rift. Trouble is a small rift can become a big one if not taken care of. One or both of the partners can become discouraged and quit. That's about all it takes and the marriage is pretty much over. Maybe. There are times when it's over. Done. But there are also times when it's worth giving it a second chance. Maybe try something new or make changes. See a counselor. If it can't be saved, then go on.

All of my tractors are old with a couple on life support. My best tractor is a Massey 135 with about 1,200 hours on it, which isn't very many at all for a 1976 model. But even though the tractor hasn't been used a lot down through the years, it is about 44 years old. Age is slowly creeping up on my tractor. A year ago or so, the radiator started to leak, so I took it off and took it to a radiator doctor. He said he could fix the old radiator and get a bunch of years out of it or concoct a new one. Price difference was substantial. Fix the old one. There will, some time in the future, come a day when I say that's enough and my old 135 will be parked and go to a graveyard for old tractors. Thought about finding another newer 45-horsepower tractor, but don't think I can find a better one without spending a fortune. My 1976 model gets the job done. Every time I climb on her and start her up, I can feel and see that she is made of real iron. Heavy iron. I think I'll keep the old one until it completely tuckers out. I really hate to give up on the old tractor. Almost makes me feel guilty even considering a newer model.

We get married, and along comes a couple kids. We have these great expectations of how they will grow up and succeed. And they do. Maybe one is the head of a big corporation, and the other owns his own business. Or they just might be the best parents on this whole earth. Who knows? One is never sure how their children will turn out. We can raise them the best we can and give them the best start possible, and then it's up to them. Do we ever want to turn them back in and trade them for a new model? Maybe. A friend of mine was having trouble with her grown adult child, and she matter of factly said she wished she had drowned it when a baby. Don't know if she was serious, but I kind of suspect she had thought of it. Not what we had planned, but we still love them anyway. My one sister had seven kids, and we've talked about how she raised them. She said after four or five, what's one more? She also said she wouldn't change a thing. She loves them all.

Farmers plant their crops, and no rain, so no crops. Or their crop is looking awesome, and along comes a hail storm and all that left is twigs sticking up. Or they harvest their crops, and the market has fallen, and it's not even going to pay for expenses. Or a rancher goes to sell his calves and the market is at an all-time low, and he is facing losing the ranch. Or along comes a virus and just destroys one's business. One feels like throwing in the towel and some will. But most will begin planning how they can make ends meet next year, or how can one start the business over, or what do they need to do to get things rolling. May need some help. Maybe start again with a partner. I can't tell you how, but plain quitting should be our last alternative.

When we want something special or we need a special kind of help, we don't want someone who throws in the towel at the first hint of trouble or problems. Some 10 or 12 years ago, when I lost a bunch of blood and the doctor ended up doing CPR on me, I didn't want a quitter, but I wanted a doctor who would give it his all. He did and I'm still here. Marge has had quite a journey getting used to her Insta-Pot. Some of the meals have been outstanding, while some were just OK. One thing I know, she will keep cranking out new ones as she learns. The same with our tomatoes. We will keep trying new varieties, searching for that perfect one that looks good, grows well and tastes awesome.

I guess my point is don't give up or quit until you have exhausted all other possibilities or you have given it all you have or you feel led to move on. Marge and I weren't raised to give up, but there have been times when we were tempted. We didn't. There have also been times when things got rough and God said to move on, so we shut up a chapter in our life and went on to the next one.

The one constant in our life all down through the years is our faith in God. He will see us through this. Business is kaput, then let Him help. No pasture, then let Him find a solution. Sickness is on you, then turn to Him. I'm not trying to be preachy, but He is the solution to a world gone crazy. Matter of fact, He is the only solution.