Welcome to the 2016 Sizzlin’ Summer Challenge!
Happy Independence Day Week.
You’re about to embark on a fun summer journey with 10 weeks of healthy activities to get you out and about in your communities and with your loved ones.
By starting exactly on the 4th of July we’re excited to take this opportunity to highlight a founding mother and father with your very first weekly goal…
Grow Something!
Though Thomas Jefferson had his flaws (Slavery not withstanding) he was probably our first nearly vegetarian politician. He adored vegetables and shared seeds as well as the science of gardening with his everyone who would listen. In fact, he loved veggies so much he often ran out and had to buy more from the locals. Even though we all disagree with slavery, he did allow his slaves to sell him the bounty of their own gardens to make money to free themselves. Veggies were a thriving business at Monticello, healing wounds, feeding the souls.
“No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth, and no culture comparable to that of the garden,” Jefferson exclaimed.
Peas were his favorite to grow because they grew easily and quickly, stored in little space and lasted a long time. Beets and carrots (well all root veggies in fact) came in second for similar reasons. He also loved lettuce and greens for their flavorful qualities (but he was talking about the kind grown locally and eaten immediately from harvest — he was a true farm-to-table dude).
Even if you don’t have space to grow these items, you could try some wheatgrass in a small pot on a windowsill or herbs. Wheatgrass can be cut like lawn grass and put in smoothies for vitamins and minerals. Herbs are great for cooking.
The handy-dandy world-wide web lends all kinds of advice on how to grow this-or-that umpteen ways. So you don’t have to be a genius to get it right, you just have to persevere (and that’s the truth about all our health-related shenanigans isn’t it?). Consistency and effort matter a lot in the long run.
Abigail Adams said, “Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence.” But don’t go overboard! Keep it simple as she also said… “We have too many high-sounding words, and too few actions that correspond with them.” Hop to it, in other words.
And Abigail knew. While John was away in France building our new nation, she was stuck in Massachusetts protecting the family farm. In fact, she pretty much makes Jefferson look like a whimp! She did not have slaves, she did not have a handyman hubby, she did not have even have her eldest son (he too was swept up in service of our nation, oh those teenagers!).
My point is, if Abigail could grow a great and mighty farm in a revolution, and Jefferson’s slaves could ply him with 250 varieties of veggies including 19 kinds of peas, what are we waiting for? It’s who we are as a people!
If growing something in your own space isn’t an option, see if you can help a friend in their garden. My mother used to volunteer at a tiny local museum to help weed their garden once a year. There are lots of options for connection with the earth and helping replenish its wonders. And just think of the rewards. There is no joy in the world like sinking your teeth into a fresh, local summer veggie!
Happy Fourth and happy growing!
See you on the PATH Ahead,
Gillian, Shevonne, Amy and the VEHI PATH Team.
(PS. LOGISTICAL NOTE: Don’t forget to post your photos of your weekly escapades on our PATH Facebook page — in this case there is beauty in sharing. Be sure to title your post and say the week you’re referring to. Also write that title on your game card so we can match your card to your posts when you mail it in at the end of the 10 weeks.)