Charlotte Rose Monday

Perhaps it is fitting that my granddaughter Charlotte Rose was born last Monday, which was Rosenmontag (Rose Monday). This day before the beginning of Lent is the highlight of the German celebration of carnival very similar to the Mardi Gras celebration held in New Orleans (and other cities in the U.S.) on Fat Tuesday.

For us this is not a drunken celebration of excess (though the maturity ward was handing out Mardi Gras beads yesterday) but a sober one reflecting on the joy and fragility of new life. Charlotte is a tiny little bundle who needs to be cared for and cuddled. As the snow continues to melt away, I think of the summer and fall when she can accompany her grandpa in the garden.

In the beginning it will be a passive activity with her in a little hat and covered so she doesn’t get sunburn while she watches her grandpa pulling weeds or harvesting fruits. Perhaps she will focus on a bug she spots on a tomato plant. Or she will want to taste a late-ripening strawberry in September. By next year, she will be working with grandpa finding worms in the soil and planting seeds with her little trowel (I already have a little garden bag for her.)

I can’t wait.

Comments

[erik]

Thanks for the sharing. I plan to do the same for mine. I'm hoping to get her interested in weeding; she's a lot closer to the ground than I am.

[joene]

Enjoy introducing your granddaughter to the world of gardening. Our granddaughter will be two in July and she has been accompanying her grandma into the garden since the beginning. Flowers are 'pretty', birds are fun to spot, and she loves to look up at the tall trees. This planting season she will get her first set of garden tools and a pair of gloves - so she doesn't have to steal Grandmas!