It all starts with a seed

Jordyn Swalley

After a long, confusing month of fighting with herself, Mother Nature has finally agreed to let spring transpire.

At first I was a little skeptical in thinking it was just another one of her not so funny tricks, but as I walked through the neighborhood basking in the sun last night, I couldn’t help but recognize the bushes and flowers that were once fighting the winter are now turning back to the luscious color green thumbs love to see.

Over the years, my green thumb hasn’t shone quite as bright as it did as a child, but as I’ve grown older the memories of time spent in the garden with my grandmother come back to me, and the need for my thumb to shine green again grows.

We would spend hours in that garden, and every time it would grow beautifully beyond the images I would create in my mind when all I could see were patches of dirt covered in water.

Each time I visited her; we’d go out to the garden to see how our flowers were progressing, and feed the flowers with water and nutrients.

Before I knew it, this once sad dirt patch turned into a thriving fantasy garden that you could barely keep me away from; and it all started with a seed.

“From a small seed, a mighty trunk may grow.” — Aeschylus.

Maryville started with a seed in 1845, and since then has been given the nourishment it has needed to grow.

It has survived tough winters, wet springs, and times of dilemma, but the nourishment would prevail and it would grow stronger by working together to ensure the seed would grow into the tree those who planted it envisioned.

We are the nourishment, and it is our time to help Maryville continue its journey to turn into that mighty trunk our forefathers envisioned.

Every day we nourish this seed, in the relationships we make, work that we accomplish, and faith we practice.

We are continuing the growth of Maryville’s values and future right before our eyes, without even realizing it.

Just this year, Maryville has been recognized as No. 11 of Top 50 Safest Cities in Missouri, Healthiest County in Missouri for the second year in a row, No. 32 of Top 50 Safest College Towns in America, Top 10 Micropolitan community of industrial growth, No. 79 in Top 100 Bass Fishing Lakes, and Top 15 Exceptional Hybrid courses with the new Watson 9 atr Mozingo Lake Recreation Park, which hasn’t even opened yet.

If that’s not growth, I don’t know what is.

After a seed undergoes a transformation like this, everyone can appreciate it, knowing that they have helped in the nourishment of forming what was once just a seed.

But we can’t stop now.

We must work together and continue nourishing this seed.

Continue doing your part in making relationships, working hard, and believing.

Inform yourselves of what is going on in Maryville and what you can do as your part in this journey so you can be a part of this wonderful transformation taking place right before your eyes.

As I mentioned, my green thumb hasn’t shone as brightly as it used to, but the lessons I learned with my grandmother of patience, care, and envisioning will stay with me as I continue my efforts in being a part of the nourishment this mighty trunk which I call Maryville progress.

“If we should be blessed by some great reward, such as fame or fortune, it’s the fruit of a seed planted by us in the past.” — Bodhidharma

In memory of Nancy Long.