A friend posted some before/after pictures of her landscaping today. And after several hours kicking around ideas about where we could go on a family vacation so that a) we wouldn’t have to answer the phone and b) we’d be able to avoid the laundry and c) we’d all enjoy some QT as a family (answer: nowhere), we somehow found ourselves covered in bug spray and wielding yard tools.

A short trip to Home Depot and $160 later, we’re home poring over organic gardening books, fantasizing about our summer harvest. I should mention here that I’ve killed every plant I’ve ever cared for except the rosemary in my flowerbed and the snapdragons on my porch, and my husband has never, ever tended a garden. Or a plant.

But we’re not deterred. For no reason, I have complete faith in us. I feel confident and hopeful. Tomorrow we’ll congregate in the yard as a family under a cloud of bug spray (essential oils, relax) and attempt to transform our overgrown mess of a yard into a tropical, food-bearing paradise.

Wish us luck.