Last year, we made a ton of pickles. For some reason I didn’t write down how many pints jars we made, but it was a lot. Like probably 150-200 jars. We have 4 left. We sold most of them, gifted several and ate some ourselves. Family function? I’ll bring the pickles.

The baby dill pickles are a favorite. Do you know how many tiny cucumbers it takes to make baby dills? A lot. Our cucumbers just started producing and we made our first dozen jars for the season. Pickles take patience. The seeds need to be planted, watered & weeded. The cucumber plants need to have enough sun, enough heat, and few bugs/pests. You may need to train them on a fence or trellis. Then you need to pick them just at the right time. They need to be washed and trimmed and cut. Then after the jars are washed, garlic, cucumbers and dill are added. The hot brine is poured over and the jars are water bathed. Then they need to be covered while they cool so that they seal. They need to be labeled on top and the side and boxed up for the market. Patience. It doesn’t take long to eat a jar of pickles, but it takes a long time to make a jar.

We often want instant gratification. We don’t like to wait. We are impatient if our computer is slow. People are impatient at the market (not wanting to wait in line.) It’s difficult to be patient. It’s often hard to be patient with ourselves. It takes a while to change. I’m guilty of this myself. I want to be good at my job now. I want to lose weight now. We try to rush from one thing to the next without fully experiencing the growth part. if we rush to pick, we may miss one hiding behind a leaf. They may grow into the fence or need to be guided and moved.

Peace be with you on your journey of enough. Enjoy the pickles, but understand they took months to make. Don’t rush past the growth phase.