One Potato, Two Tomato...

Happens to me all the time - just 5 more minutes would have gotten me to that meeting on time, if I lost 10 more pounds I could fit into the other half of my wardrobe, if I could stretch those dollars I wouldn't need to work so much and if I had just one more chance - well you can be sure this time I would do it all better!  Grade school mathematics can make the most complex gardens manageable and the most complicated lifestyles simply satisfying.  Allow my fourth grader to break it down:

First, Subtraction - take away the stressors in your life and reduce the number of commitments you are responsible for.  Too many tomatoes will crowd your beds and limit diversity in your harvest.

Addition - increase the positive influences in your life.  Whether increasing the amount of free time dedicated to rest and relaxation or raising the bar on your expectations  - growth can be exciting and very rewarding.  Organic fertilizers have more benefits than you can shake a stick at!

Of course Multiplication quickly maximizes those happy subsets formed through bonds of friendship and companion planting makes cooperation look and feel sooo easy!  Three sisters of corn, beans and squash team up just as well as that "Sisterhood of Travelling Pants".

Division provides more room for individual growth and thins out the most problematic tangle of weeds.  Don't be afraid to spread things out a bit - a little more elbow room is good for everyone.

After doing the math, you can be sure that if I had a nickel for every mistake I made, I'd be dictating this blog from the Caribbean.  We will save the finance lesson for another day but know this.  While I may not be rich in material wealth, I pride myself on high scores in effort and i look forward to the day I reap the benefits of that which I've sown, cultivated and harvested.