Tabitha

Meet Tabitha.

My mother gave Tabitha to me earlier this week.

Upon receiving Tabitha I did what any human would do upon receiving a pansy plant, which is give it a name and then devote every waking moment to the care and keeping of it.

Now, I've taken care of a lot of things: praying mantises. Younger siblings. I even became quite friendly with Baby Sister's pet rat. However, I have never had much experience with plants, so this is uncharted territory for me.

The first evening I got Tabitha, I bonded with her by sitting outside and playing her some good music. I selected "Follow Me" from Fraggle Rock as well as "Amazing Grace." She seemed to enjoy the music; at least, she didn't complain.

The next day, I forgot to water Tabitha before I went to work. When I arrived home, I examined her closely to be sure she had not suffered too much from my forgetfulness.

To my great surprise, the earth in her pot was damp. I presumed that this was from being watered the night before. Did that mean that Tabitha wasn't thirsty? Or that she wasn't getting enough sunshine in her home at the bottom of the stairwell outside my apartment?

I was very unsure of what to do. In the end, I settled on moving Tabitha to a sunnier spot. Then, not having a watering can, I gave her a small amount of water from the cup I'd drank milk from that morning and which had touched with my very own lips.

The next day, I watered Tabitha before going to work. I noticed that, while I'd always thought that flowers turn towards the sun, Tabitha's flowers were facing every which way. What if Tabitha was a developmentally delayed pansy plant that doesn't know where the sun is?! Or if she still wasn't getting enough sun?!

I also noticed that some of the flowers seemed to be wilting.

Maybe I hadn't watered Tabitha enough the day before. What if she died of thirst?!

I gave her a nice big glass of water.

A few hours later, it started to rain. And rain. AND RAIN. That was yesterday, and it's scarcely stopped raining since.

Tabitha's flowers are no longer wilting. But now they seem to be drooping from the relentless cascade of water. And I worry about the amount of water that has overloaded her small pot. What if she dies of drowning?!

I feel like I'm turning out to be a terrible plant parent.