I shut off my iPad and took out a notebook and pen to start writing the speech I planned to give to the mini meadow to help it grow. Only it was a lot harder than I thought it would be. It took me THREE attempts until I got it right:

Attempt 1: A stern lecture

Right plants, listen up. We are depending on ye. We’ve given ye three days already and, to be perfectly honest, you’ve let us down. Your performance, behaviour and general attitude have been nothing short of disappointing.

When I re-read this, I realised it sounded far too angry. What plant was going to grow if I SHOUTED at it? It also reminded me way too much of one of Mr Manley’s assemblies, so I crossed it out and tried again.

Attempt 2: A Rap

Daisy, buttercup, bluebell too We’re all excited, waiting for you Yellow, white, red, even purple Please bloom bright like a … schmurple

After a full hour, I realised that no matter how hard I tried, I could not think of a single word that rhymed with PURPLE, so I ditched the rap and tried again.

Attempt 3: A pep talk

I tried to think about a time when I had felt encouraged, and then it came to me like a lightning bolt. I’d write the plants a PEP TALK, just like the ones coach Sinéad gives us at half-time if we are losing a camogie match.

This is what I wrote …

Right, seedlings. The rest of my class thinks that this game is over. That you have given up, that you’re not going to bloom. And I know it’s been a tough start. The soil is cold and it’s Ireland so it’s pretty much always raining above ground. But I believe in you. You have what it takes to be the best BLOOMING meadow in all of Ballybrogin. Maybe even in all of Ireland. We are depending on you in this competition. And before you say it, I know winning isn’t everything. But just think how good it will feel to say, ‘We did our best, we worked as a team, we tried.’ So come on, get out there and grow. Grow for Scoil Eoin, grow for Ballybrogin, grow for me, Milly McCarthy!

When I read it back, I knew that this was the one. So, the next day in school, when it was lunchtime and we were out in the yard, I told Laura that I had to go and use the toilet, but instead, I snuck off to the flowerbeds and gave them my pep talk.

To be honest, I thought I did a great job. I walked up and down and shook my fists and waved my arms about and used a big dramatic boomy voice just like coach Sinéad.

But what I didn’t realise was that it wasn’t just the seeds that were LISTENING.