Further Up and Further In

Once upon a time... there was a gardener who planted a little seed in the rich, fertile soil of Portland, Oregon. The gardener gave the seed plenty of water, sunlight and nutrition. He nurtured it for a long time, in hopes that one day it would grow and sprout. After nearly 12 years, the seed did sprout, coming out of the darkness into the light. However, soon after the seed had sprouted, the gardener transplanted the now-sprout across the country to the thinner, rockier soil of Deering, New Hampshire. This little plant had to decide if it wanted to grow. The soil was different. The water tasted weird. The sunlight didn't feel the same. And the plant didn't get the same nourishment that it was used to. But... the gardener hadn't left the plant. In fact, the gardener was still faithfully tending the plant, encouraging it to grow in this new environment. It took the plant a little while but it eventually started to put down roots. It began to stretch up towards the sunligh