Seasons and Growth

There are 3 apple trees in our yard.

Some periods of our growth are so confusing that we don't even recognize that growth is happening. We may feel depressed. It would never occur to us, unless we stumbled on a book or a person who explained to us, that we were in fact in the process of change, of actually becoming larger, spiritually, than we were before. Whenever we grow, we tend to feel it, as a young seed must feel the weight and inertia of the earth as it seeks to break out of its shell on its way to becoming a plant. Often the feeling is anything but pleasant. But what is most unpleasant is the not knowing what is happening. Those long periods when something inside ourselves seems to be waiting, holding its breath, unsure about what the next step should be, eventually become the periods we wait for, for it is in those periods that we realize we are being prepared for the next phase of our life and that, in all probability, a new level of the personality is about to be revealed.

 Alice Walker, in Living by the Word

Moving to a new a place in the dead of winter is hard. We moved to Delcevo December 1st. We knew very few people and practically nothing about our new town. It was icy outside, and everyone stayed inside around their warm fires. We did the same. It was fun at first, settling into our new place, enjoying long-awaited alone time, snuggling in to read and watch tv. The fun lasted but a few days, and then we felt restless and isolated. I think it was especially hard on these two Texans, experiencing real seasons for the first time. A consistently frigid winter with ice and snow was new to us. We started to think this is what our lives would be like for the next two years, and began to question why were even here.

The apricot tree in March.

In April

Today

We can literally eat apricots right off the tree.

We stuck it out, and Spring came. Everything changed. Our front garden exploded with flowers, fruits, and vegetables. The people emerged from their homes. Things started looking up.

I'm growing jalapenos, cilantro, and tomatoes on our balcony.
Thanks for the seeds, Dad!

Pepper plants and Teva tan lines indicate
I'm having a good summer.

Cherry tree

Raspberries

Apples

Squash

Now, we sit in the garden for meals, coffee, and chats with our host family. We go on hikes. We've met a lot of new people, We're spending a lot less time inside, and more time with other people outside.

Snowy grape vines

The grape vines now

This experience made us realize how painful growth can be at times, and how tied we are to the seasons. We are enjoying the summer in Macedonia, but we know that winter will be here again soon. This time, we feel much more prepared for it. We have already bought, chopped, and stacked the wood for our stove. We have family coming to visit. And now we know people, and where to go when the winter blues hit.

-Andreya