Rejected

In this Saturday morning's email I found my rejection letter for the MN Master Gardener program. The story goes like this.

I'd heard of this group way back when I was in living in Iowa. The master gardeners that I knew had nice yards, and that's about all really. So having lots of other club and volunteer activities to keep me busy I really never considered it as a group for me.

But then last winter I was listening to one of my favorite shows - Good Food with Evan Kleiman, and she was interviewing a woman who was a master gardener. This woman's take on the program is that its all about volunteering in your community - farmer's markets, urban gardening, nutrition education. And I thought - Now that's a group for me.

Here in MN, the program is run out of County extension offices. I'm in the county that includes Minneapolis, so I thought they could use someone like me who is into urban gardening etc, is an environmental specialist, and whose had lots of volunteer experience.

Turns out I was wrong, and here's probably why.

I made it clear (in a nice way) that I'm into vegetable gardening, composting...things like that, and that advising people on why their roses have black spots was really not my interest.

I kinda let on that I was not totally 100% on board with advising on only U of MN research proven techniques (which can include the use of pesticides, herbicides, that sort of thing).

But the kicker may have been telling them that I wanted to have the master gardener title so that when I do these things (like my no mow lawn), my neighbors might think...well, she's a master gardener, she must know what she's doing. Instead of looking at me like I'm a bit batty.

So a little part of me is bummed - everyone likes to get the job they interviewed for. But, on the other hand I am a bit relieved. It was two nights per week plus full day Saturday classes for two months, in the dead of winter down on the U of MN campus, plus I'd have to PAY THEM $500, so that they would let me volunteer. The outcome may have been for the best in the end.

Maybe I'll take a sewing class or something instead. I cannot find pants that fit me, I'm just shrinking away. I want to try to make some simple euro-fashioned skirts.