Sink Baby: Still Growing

An update to “I Started in the Sink”

Hello again. Remember me? I'm the little citrus tree who started life in a bathroom sink.

Apparently, growing a tree takes time. Who knew? LOL.

I'm still skinny. That's okay. I'm still a baby tree, and baby trees are allowed to be skinny. I have more leaves now, and some of them are getting quite big. New leaves keep appearing, too. My human seems pleased about that.

I'm living in a pot beside a sunny window. It's a considerable improvement over the sink, although I understand that I haven't exactly moved into a palace. I have soil, water, light, and a plastic bottle over me to keep the cats from getting too curious. I even have a little cactus security detail nearby.

I had a roommate for a while, another volunteer plant who decided my pot looked like a nice place to live. My human relocated the roommate outside, where we can each have the space we need. Apparently, not everyone who shows up uninvited gets to stay. LOL.

My soil has settled a little, so I may get a top-up soon. My human waters me by letting water drip slowly into my pot in the sink, then leaving me to drain before returning me to my spot. It's rather a good arrangement. I don't have to worry about puddles, and she doesn't have to worry about making a mess.

Of course, she sometimes forgets about me for weeks at a time. I try not to take it personally. She's busy growing, too.

I don't know what kind of citrus tree I'll become. An orange, perhaps. Maybe a mandarin. I don't know if I'll ever produce fruit, or how big I'll eventually grow. Those are questions for another day.

For now, I'm growing leaves and roots. I'm getting stronger. I'm reaching toward the light.

I started in a sink, in a place where I wasn't supposed to grow. But I grew anyway. And when someone noticed me, I was given a chance to grow somewhere better.

I think that's worth remembering.

Sometimes circumstances aren't perfect for the future. Sometimes all we can do is survive where we are, keep growing with what we have, and watch for the little cracks that might lead us somewhere better.

And sometimes a helping hand appears and gives us the chance to take that next step.

I don't know how long I'll have. I don't know what I'll become. But I'm here, and I'm growing.

For now, that's enough.

See you when I have more leaves.

—Sink Baby