I just had the greatest aha! moment of my life.
No, not really.
But I was just thinking—or staring blankly into space waiting for the next random thought to zap in was more like it—and bam! It hit me. That I could actually be right in the middle of a very significant milestone in my life and I may not even be aware of it. That I might in fact be at that point of (finally!) getting past mental adolescence and moving on to becoming a real mature person and I do not even realize it. Wow. Maturity. Something that I had least anticipated to happen to me at this point and time. Or even at all.
Lately, I’ve been doing some gardening. Yes, like digging dirt, sowing seeds, weeding, watering, harvesting and getting my hands dirty—literally. Like Farm Town, only real.
So what does this have to do with maturity?
See, this is just so NOT in my character! I’m growing plants for godssake. Plants! Do you know what they are and what it means? Plants are not lifeless objects. They have needs, they breathe, they grow and they can DIE. And this only means that at last now I am capable of taking care of something other than myself, and I am actually responsible for another living thing! There are lives at the mercy of my hands now. See? I’m practically god.
It’s amazing, really. Because I was never the person who stays in one place long enough to even witness the life cycle of a fly. Or even if I did, I was never really the nurturing type, which is why I’ve always known pets are not for me. While all my friends were all going gaga over their cats and dogs, all I could think of was their poop (the pets’, not my friends’, silly!) and how tiring and disgusting it must be to always be tidying up their mess.
You know what, I just had another aha! moment. This just might even be the first successful relationship I’ve been in to. EVER. And it’s with… a plant. Great. Oh well, at least it’s something alive. Also it doesn’t talk back or call me names, always returns the favor, we complement each other,—by exchanging gases, that is. Now you can’t really do that with a human partner, can you? No.—and most important of all it’s here to stay. Unless I accidentally (or intentionally) kill it and it dies, of course. Now you see how it is actually THE perfect relationship.
I used to say that even a cactus would die in my care. Well, what do you know, apparently I underestimated myself because now I have a plot (about sixty stems) of ready-to-harvest lemon basil which —wait for this—I grew from scratch! I know, right? Thank you, thank you. I’ve actually already harvested some and I made fresh pesto out of it and it was sooo good!
I also have mint, coriander and thyme in the garden. I’ve just started a batch of baby lettuce and next in the germination box is celery.
OKAY, enough crop talk. Pun not intended.
So just because I’m getting my hands (and nails and feet!) dirty, and because I am harvesting my own crops, am I now claiming myself as matured?
No, not really.
Or at least not entirely. But hey, this is a really promising start.
Care for some pesto pasta? 
