#AtoZChallenge, G is for Grow

It's a rainy day in Albuquerque, just right for spring planting and today's topic of GROW: 

Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow? 

Looking at the page I've created for today, I guess my garden is full of kittens (and one lone puppy). I'm not sure why, but I do remember how much I enjoyed watching my cats grow from little balls of fluff to grand masters of stealth and grace.

Using your art journal to record and examine your own personal growth can be a very helpful and encouraging exercise. Some questions you might want to ask yourself along the way could include: 

• In what areas of life would you like to grow stronger, wiser, more informed, more forgiving, etc.?
• What actions can you take to get there?
• What's been stopping your growth now or in the past?
• What new projects would you like to plant the seeds for?
• How can you best take stock of, and celebrate, the growth you've already achieved?

Besides examining your own personal growth, you might like to use your journal to record and express:

• Your children's growth and achievements.
• Pets, too!
• An actual garden journal, with notes on planting dates, successes (and failures--my own gardening disasters could fill a whole book. . . ), and wish-lists for future gardens.

As I write this post, sitting under lamplight while the skies remain dark and cloudy and the whole world seems muffled in fog, I'm reminded of elementary school and that constant question: What do you want to be when you grow up? 

For me it was always an archaeologist. That is, until I learned archaeologists had to dig ditches in hot climates and get all dusty and dirty. Yuk! Looking back I think what I really meant was I wanted to work in a beautiful museum, hushed and scholarly, and where the only "dirt" was the collection of rock and gem specimens behind glass. But it makes an interesting study, to see where I came from and where I landed, and where I'm still growing (other than my waistline. . .). So how about you?

Tip of the Day: What did you want to be when you "grew up"? Did you achieve your goal, or did life show you an entirely different path you followed instead? And what about now, any plans for the future? Write, collage, draw and get them down on paper--make that garden grow.