Last summer we bought a packet of grape tomato seeds. We planted them indoors around March. That year we had the perfect amount of rain and sun for those tomato plants to flourish once we re-planted them outside; therefore, my five tomato plants took over my garden. And my kids loved going outside and eating the grape tomatoes right off the vine. They were delicious. My son – three-years-old at the time – also loved to stomp on the tomatoes that fell to the ground before he could pick them. There was something so satisfying to him to watch the seeds splatter all over the ground and to feel the tomato innards squish between his toes.

Fast Forward

This year, the splattered seeds decided they’d grow into their own plants. So last year’s game has now turned into this year’s harvest. And we have more than a dozen tomato plants randomly growing around the yard. I didn’t plant one grape tomato plant this year and yet that is my most abundant crop to date. And once again, the kids love to go outside and pick their tasty red snacks.

I love thinking about his tiny feet pushing those tiny seeds into the dirt. I love thinking that one act of his mischievous, joyful childhood created food for us to eat. And I love knowing he created something so sweet, all by himself.

Reflect

When I pop one of those sweet little fruits – yes, a tomato is a fruit not a vegetable – into my mouth I reflect on its origin. I smile knowing how it was created. And I’m grateful to have a son like mine.

There have been and will be many times that my son will less fruitfully smash things into the ground. That’s the reality of being a parent. But this time his actions were fruitful. And we’ll gratefully get to reap the benefits his actions have sown.