POTTING BENCH ENVY

Alex and I were on a walk through our neighborhood when, halfway down the street, I stopped and pointed. “Wouldn't that look perfect in our backyard?”

Alex looked at the house I was pointing to. “What?”

“The potting bench!” I sighed. “I've always wanted one.”

Alex looked confused. “Why?”

I couldn't believe he couldn't see what I was seeing. “Because it's so cute!” I cried. “Oh, and very functional.” I added quickly.

The bench we were looking at sat at the edge of their driveway, tucked under the shade of an oak tree. The weather worn wood was the perfect shade of gray. The different sized pots were stacked on top of the table while a bag of new potting soil was tucked on a lower shelf next to a basket filled with gardening tools. “Can't you just see something like that next to our deck in the back?”

“Um....not really.” Alex stood looking at it for a moment before adding, “It kind of looks like they pulled a workbench out of the garage and forgot to drag it back in when they were done.”

“Oh come on!” I was surprised. “It does not!” I looked back at the bench, not seeing what he was seeing. “To me it looks like a family that likes being outside with nature!”

Alex just shook his head. “Exactly how much potting are you planning on doing?” Alex began walking again while I gave one last envious look before quickly catching up to him.

“Well, I need to replant all our indoor plants because they've grown out of their pots.” I began counting them up on my fingers. “So right off the bat I've got four, no five plants that need re-potting.”

“And?”

“Well, that's it for right now.” I admitted.

“So you want to buy a bench to re-pot five plants?”

“Well, that's not the point of the potting bench.” I argued. “You get a potting bench because it's a cute place for all your gardening things so you're all set up and ready when it's time to work in your garden.”

Now Alex looked confused. “But we don't have a garden.”

“Oh my gosh!” I cried getting frustrated. “That's still not the point!” I took a deep breath and tried again to explain. “I want one because I think it would look really cute next to our deck.”

By now we'd walked our usual two mile route and were almost back home.

“I didn't mean to get you upset.” Alex said. “Maybe I'm the wrong person to talk to about this. Why don't you talk to Dad?” he reached into his pocket to get out the keys as we walked up our driveway.

I stopped to pull a few weeds that were sticking up from our cobblestone driveway, proving to myself that I could garden, while Alex unlocked the front door.

He held the door open for me as I carried my fistful of weeds into the kitchen and tossed them in the trash. “Thanks for the walk.” I said as I went to the sink to wash my hands while Alex went to the cabinet to get a few bottles of water.

“Don't forget to drink some water.” he said as placed a bottle next to the sink.

Just then Steven walked into the kitchen. “You two have a nice walk?” he asked.

“We did!” I grabbed a paper towel and began drying my hands. “We were just talking about a really great potting beach we saw at one of the neighbors houses.”

“Oh?” Steven leaned against the counter.

“I was asking Alex if he thought something like that would look good by our back deck?”

Steven looked confused. “A potting bench? How much potting could you possibly do?”

“Oh come on! That's exactly what Alex said!” I looked over at Alex. “Did you say something to him?”

Alex smiled as he held up his hands and shook his head. “Hey, I walked in with you! Remember?”