What’s your unexpected joy?

Back in the dark wet days of winter, Vince and I put together the seed order for our garden.  We had agreed that for the first year of our new garden we’d ‘grow what we eat’.  Which might seem like a ridiculously simple plan of action but if you’ve ever flicked through the pages of a seed catalogue you’ll know how enticing everything is. 

Much to my annoyance Vince insisted on getting a packet of cucamelon seeds. We’d never eaten cucamelons, so we didn’t know what they tasted like or if we’d like them.  But something about them captured Vince's imagination and into the seed order they went.

Cucamelons are tiny grape sized cucumbers from Mexico.  Their skin looks similar to watermelon, hence the name. They taste like cucumber with a hint of lime.  And even though the fruit are tiny the vines can grow to between 2-3 metres tall.

But by the time the weather warmed up enough to start preparing our seed trays, Vince had lost interest in the cucamelons, so I somewhat begrudgingly sowed the seeds.  

Weeks passed.  All our seeds had germinated, except the cucamelons.  I was thinking about emptying the seed tray into the compost when 3 tiny seedlings finally emerged.

Once they arrived and started to grow I was smitten.  Cucamelon plants look delicate and elegant but they are full of personality.  They are tenacious, unruly and adventurous.  Despite having a structure to climb up they stretched their fine tendrils out almost 60cm to reach the sunflowers and then used the sunflower stems as a climbing frame. 

I delight in going to the garden each morning to see what they’ve been up to and to collect their tiny fruit. They are crunchy, fresh and zesty, a perfect snack on a hot summer day.  Despite all my reservations and resistance, they have given me so much unexpected joy.  

Sometimes resistance is the door we have to walk through to connect to our joy.

• Maybe it’s saying yes to an invitation.
  

• Going to a concert when it would be easy to stay at home.
  

• Trying a new coffee shop, alone or with a friend.
  

• It could be resting instead of doing.
  

• Or taking a day away from your phone.

My invitation to you today is to be open and curious about how and where you might discover your unexpected joy.  And when you find it, message me and let me know.