Growing my own recovery

The government can't fix the economy, locally or globally.

We're the ones who have to fix the problem, and, now that the initial shock is wearing off, it's time to act. We need to get our own lives in order, get our feet solidly beneath us, and then reach out to help others who are still struggling.

It's easy to feel helpless in the face of the daily news and the enormity of the problem and the smallness of our abilities to help. I was getting caught up in the way everyone was counting on "new" things to save us: new technology, new businesses, and even new workers in old occupations. If that's true, I can't help. I'm not new. I'm an old worker in an old occupation.

But sometimes old is good. My role in the recovery will come from something as old as dirt: growing my own food.

I've planted a summer garden every year for decades, but always in a slapdash sort of way. I enjoyed seeing things grow, and that was enough of a reward, even if the bunnies and the bugs and the droughts and the floods consumed the bulk of my crops.

This year, though, the harvest matters. This year, I'm growing my own recovery.