Sunflowers and Teeth Brushing

Go big or go home. I know, I know. It's a phrase we all say, but do we ever really "go big"?

Go Big is scary. It's actually ludicrous at times. I mean, who am I to think I could actually do something so huge? What if I fail? What if people laugh at me or send me those judgy looks we're all so afraid of?

Sometimes going big means 5,000 sunflower seeds. Sometimes it just means getting out of bed and facing the day. Both count. We'll get there.

This season's version of me "going big or going home" comes in the form of 5,000 sunflower seeds. 19 different varieties of pollen-less sunflower seeds. It might not be your jam, but it certainly is mine. And I'm pretty giddy about it!

And you know what? It's a good thing I got 5,000. Here on the farm we have lots of reasons why a sunflower seed might not make it to a perfect pickable bloom. Bunnies and deer and chipmunks, oh my! Heat waves that dry out soil, slugs, and bugs.

Folks, I am not going to see 5,000 sunflowers swaying in the breeze with a rainbow overhead this year. Maybe next year. But I'm going to be a lot closer to growing 5,000 sunflowers than if I never tried.

It takes WORK to get that much seed in the ground, and if I'm honest, it's not going as well as I had hoped. But, I AM DOING IT. And you know what? I'm pretty proud of myself for trying.

I keep putting seed in the ground, keep weeding, keep watering, keep monitoring. Just this week I put in about 1,000. Get ready, September!

Here's what this taught me:

When we dream big and take the first steps to just START, that's where the magic is. No matter how much we think, plan, discuss, research, it's not the same as actually doing it. And we can always think of some reason why we shouldn't do it.

Pouring over seed catalogs, admiring sunflowers, filling my online shopping cart is not the same as ordering the seed. Ordering the seed is not the same as digging in the soil and planting those babies. See where I'm going here?

Action is what is required. Because no one ever grew 5,000 pollen-less sunflowers in their jammies, on the couch, dreaming of fields of sunnies with a rainbow overhead. Boy, wouldn't that be nice?

And let's be honest. Some days, the biggest "Go Big" we do is getting ourselves out of bed when our world is falling apart. Getting dressed when it would be so much easier not to. Brushing your teeth when it feels like the smallest, dumbest, most impossible task on the list.

I see you.

And that is action. It's forward movement. It's bigger than you. It's where the magic is. And you should be proud of yourself for trying. ❤️

It might not look like 5,000 sunflowers in bloom, but it's BIG. And it matters. Please keep getting out of bed. Don't worry about the teeth for now.

I'll keep you posted on how many of those 5,000 actually make it. And however many sunflowers make it — however many mornings you make it out of bed — we're counting all of them. Bonus points for teeth brushing.