The lemon tree

Last year, in the spring we bought a little lemon tree and repotted it and sat it in a sunny spot by the front yard.

About a month later the little lemon tree was covered in little white flowers and I was filled with visions of harvesting many many lemons. In my head I planned what I would make – lemonade, lemon cordial, lemon curd, lemon butter, lemon delicious.

Slowly but surely the little white flower fell off, and there were no lemons.

I kept watering and nurturing the plant but I was a wee bit disappointed.

I watched closely and at the end of the week I noticed two little tiny baby lemons. Small and green but full of promise.

More fertilizer, more water, more shuffling in and out of the hot Townsville sun. And slowly, very slowly, the two little lemons began to grow.

The wet season came and nature took care of the watering and I took care of the fertilizer.

Then one of the lemons fell off in a big gust of wind.

That was disappointing.

And as I harvested chilies, kefir lime leaves, carrots, snake beans, and then at the end of the wet yams, I watched the last little lemon grow bigger and bigger until it stopped.

For a week it stayed the same, no change, no growing just the same.

Earlier last week I noticed the colour changing, and this morning it looked almost yellow! We might get a lemon out of this yet!

Why on earth am I, a parenting blogger, telling you about my lemon tree?

Well it’s a lot like watching your child grow up.

When I first brought my daughter into the world I was filled with ideas of how she would be and for the first two weeks it was very much how I’d imagined.

Then silent reflux surfaced and much like the flowers falling off the tree and baring no fruit, as a mother it was disappointing.

But I continued and by the time she was a few months old she improved. Like the little lemons. And continued improving.

There have been set backs like tantrums and our mother/child relationship hasn’t always been smooth sailing. But now as she is truly a girl and not a baby, I can see her personality blossoming in front of me.

That one lemon when it is ripe will be the reward of all my hard work. Though to others it might seem like a small consolation prize, to me after months of hard work it will be a welcome reward.

My daughter is not perfect but to me she is amazing, she’s everything, and seeing her grow up into a wonderful young woman is worth the wait. I’ve never rushed her through milestones and I’ve treasured her at every age, good things come to those who wait.