You cannot grow a pumpkin.

You can, however, put a pumpkin seed in earth. You can feed it nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. You can moisten it (but please don't drown it). You can erect barriers to prevent folks from walking on it. You can dig a swale to fight erosion.

A sprout appears -- it's so small, so vulnerable. You can drench it in ovicides and larvicides and fungicides. You can shield its hungry new leaves from excessive sunshine. You can take a photo of a pumpkin flower and share it on Instagram. You can watch local pollinators, whose short visits transfer genetic material between lucky pumpkin plants. You can protect a flower as it becomes a fertilized ovary and matures into a fruit -- green, at first, then large and orange. You can remove its innards and carefully follow your aunt's pumpkin pie recipe (which didn't turn out right). You can carve a big smile into the flat surface where it once laid on the earth and place an artificial candle inside it.

But you cannot grow a pumpkin.

Nor can you hiccup, nor sneeze, nor scar. You cannot beat your heart. You cannot rewire your dendrites, nor teach yourself guitar. You cannot change your mind. You can forgive, but you cannot forget. You can purchase a gym membership, you can walk there after work (when you feel like it), but you can't create new muscle fibers. You can lift weight, but you cannot lose weight. You cannot develop a new habit (nor stop an existing one). You cannot make him love you again. You cannot purchase charisma from a grocer, but you can thank an overworked/underpaid cashier for working over a holiday weekend. You can play piano (unless you can't play piano).

You can't grow a pumpkin.

But you can spend time with a pumpkin pie fanatic, and notice yourself skimming plant facts on Wikipedia. You can drive yourself to work, where somebody will hopefully deposit wages into your bank account again. You can exchange that money for seeds and a trowel and chicken wire, and you can purchase whatever chemicals the cute guy at the nursery recommends. You can continue to give your landlord rent and hope that he doesn't notice you burying pumpkin seeds behind the apartment building.

You cannot grow a pumpkin, but you can improve the odds.