Glee

Chadwick has a green thumb. A thumb he inherited not only from his mother and father, but also his Nana, who had amazing gardens of both the vegetable and flower variety. Despite this tendency toward healthy plants, he has not mastered the art of caring for cacti. It is something he has always wanted - a healthy, indoor cactus plant. We have tried many over the years, usually in the base of a main gun round from his Marine Corps days, and none have lived for more than a few weeks. Maybe a couple of months.

With the creation of our den, he now has the opportunity for his jardin de cacti, which of course fits nicely with the southwest theme we have already set in motion. I want to add that Chadwick doesn't get outwardly gleeful very often (unlike our daughters whose faces and eyes shine with excitement). On two occasions this summer, I have seen "glee" written all over his face. The first was while building a city out of cereal boxes for the bi-annual Hunt Cereal Box Battle (more on that later). The second was Friday evening while potting one of his four cactus plants. He returned home from Lowe's with four different varieties of cactus and four beautiful ceramic pots. A real cactus garden in the making. When I mentioned the fun of actually having more than one cactus in the house, his face lit up and he shot me a smile that melted my heart.

I hope they make it this time.