When I was in high school, like most people, I went through an “I don’t want to get up in the morning” phase. There was a time when all three of my siblings and I would wait until the absolute last minute to throw a little food down, flatten our bed hair, and race out the door for the bus stop and school.

Here’s the thing. Alarm clocks are annoying. Beep-beep-beep is not a natural way to be roused from a deep slumber. And it is easy to hit the snooze button and just keep on snoozing. So my mom had the perfect solution. The Doggie-Alarm-Clock (patent pending). My siblings and I had three bedrooms on the second floor of our house, and each morning, when it was time to get up, my mom would send our cocker spaniel (Mervin Wexford Dancrodile III, Merff for short) up the stairs. He always knew what to do. He would jump into my bed first, find my face, and start licking away until he was sure I was getting up. Then he would head into my brother’s room to do the same, finishing in my sisters’ bedroom, and pretty soon, all four of us were fighting over the bathrooms and the hot water.

Abby and Maddy have, over the last 6 months, gone from being early risers to sleeping like it was their purpose in life. And so, on the days when we do need to get moving early, I do the same thing my mom used to do. I head up the stairs with our cocker spaniel Pearl at my heels ,and I tell her, “Wake them up, Pearly.” She knows the routine, and she jumps from one bed to another with the energy of a puppy and slowly convinces the girls that it really is time to get up.

Thanks, Mom, for teaching me some great tricks. I guess in the end, we really do become our parents. And my mom did more than just teach me a great way to wake kids up. Her love of plants and gardening is why I do what I do today.

With Mother’s Day this weekend, we’d usually have our Herb Gardening Seminar on Saturday. I really can’t wait for the fall when we expect to be back to our in-person classes. For now, though, we’re keeping it virtual, so enjoy our Herb Gardening Seminar. If you need something fun to do with mom this weekend, we’d love to see you together at the nursery where flowers are plentiful, inspiration is free, and time with mom is priceless. Whether you are a mom to people, pets, or plants, Happy Mother’s Day, we hope you have a great weekend.