A Baby is Born

Congratulate me - I'm the proud parent of a baby tomato.

I literally shrieked with happiness when I saw the tiny green baby, my first, hidden between the leaves of my bushy tomato plants.

I know, you don't have to be the jolly green giant to grow tomatoes. Anyone can do it. I've seen them grow on their own next to trash cans.

But this is my first-ever home-grown produce. And although planting a garden is by definition an act of faith, I didn't really believe that anything would grow there. And once the plants began to grow, I didn't believe they would bear any fruit.

In other words, I'm a little short on faith these days.

But here it is - my first tomato. Sometimes even when I have no faith, I get surprised - by nature, by spring, by the eternal power of renewal.

I can't wait until his brother Basil grows up - I'm going to cradle them in my arms, nestle them in my basket, and scramble them with some eggs. Yum.