Rachel is a Jewish bisexual autistic woman (she/her) with ADHD in her twenties. She loves writing and can always be found with her nose in a book! Her plan for the future is to earn her Psy. D. in clinical psychology. This interested in psychology started as a way to help her understand people better and to figure out what it was about others I kept not getting. It is also something deeply linked with her self-advocacy. There is a gap in communication between the autistic community and providers, and she want to help bridge it and challenge others to see things from different perspectives.
View all postsLavendar in June
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In early June, my attention was pulled to the lavender plants near the edge of our back patio. I love lavender, and getting some plants for the yard was my idea a few years ago after my mom and I visited a local lavender farm. I’d intended to research how to harvest the lavender, but before I knew it several years had passed and it had just become another niggling thing in the back of my mind that I should be doing. I don’t know why I finally took that first step this time and looked up when and how to harvest lavender. Maybe it was because the plants had grown so big and robust, becoming harder to ignore.
It turned out, June was as good a time as any for me to harvest the lavender. The tricky part was that what I read said lavender was best harvested early in the morning. When I said that maybe I would get up early to try and harvest it (since it seemed if I didn’t no one else would) it’s safe to say my parents had their doubts. I’m not the biggest morning person, and I’m often slow to get going once I do wake up.
But I had a heat wave bearing down on me, and maybe that forced my hand. So, I got up in the morning to harvest the lavender before breakfast. My dad was bemused to see me out there so early in the morning, trying to collect as much lavender as possible before work. He admitted he thought it would be another well-meant aspiration of mine that didn’t pan out. Before you judge him for his apparent lack of faith in me, I can’t personally say I blame him. At least he helped me with harvesting a little of it.
All in all, it took me a few hours over three days to harvest all the lavender from three bushes.
After all that work to harvest it, drying the lavender wasn’t the hard part. My dad had bought a dehydrator many years ago with the idea of homemade fruit snacks that never materialized. We’d all been reminded of its existence recently when he’d dragged it out to dry some excess rosemary from our herb garden. The dehydration itself was mostly a waiting game, periodically checking to see if the lavender was finally dry enough. It took about a day to dry each harvested batch of lavender flowers (despite the claims online that it should only take about three hours). I felt so proud of myself every time I stored away another batch of those dried lavender buds.
I felt even prouder once I used all that dried lavender to fill some beautiful herb sachets from Amazon (ones with a design themed around lavender). My efforts yielded 8 bags. I’ve been sleeping with one near my pillows at night and being able to smell it is so relaxing. I’m still figuring out what to do with the rest, though I did put one in my work bag recently, but just knowing I made them would be enough for me even if they sat mostly useless in a kitchen drawer.
I believe taking up hobbies that involve creating physical things with your hands is important, and the sense of pride I feel when thinking about my lavender sachets is part of that.
I bake and I cross stitch. Both are hobbies I first tried on a whim and now have stuck with me. Though, that being said, sticking with them isn’t always effortless. I have to make time for them, put in effort to plan my next project and see it through. It can feel easier to just stick to passive hobbies like reading, ones that don’t demand I bring anything but myself to the table. But there is real joy in having something physical in exchange for your time spent. If only so you can have something to show for it whenever you wonder where the day went.
When I enjoy my own baking or admire the results of my current cross stitch project, there is a pleasure in knowing the work I put in gave me this result. It’s something I think is good for all of us; to have the chance to see the tangible results of our efforts. It’s positive feedback like no other. I got that same rush from the entire process of making those lavender sachets.
I wrote this blog post, detailing this brief but worthwhile experience with lavender, to encourage those reading it to try something of the same. Attempt a small DIY project, cook a dish you’ve always wanted to make, or try out that hobby you’ve always thought would be cool. Nothing is too small. It doesn’t matter if you make muffins from a store-bought muffin mix. You still made them. Remember that and go do something!