A Sign of Hope

When I retired I moved back to my hometown and moved in the house next door to my mother. As I began building and designing gardens, she continued to tend her established gardens encircling her backyard.

My mom died in 2017 and my brother also moved back home into her house, our childhood home. I wanted to honor Mom in some way in my backyard. My husband came up with the idea of a memory garden. In the spring of 2018 my sister and I both chose plants from Mom's gardens and planted them in our respective gardens.

One favorite flower I moved was one of her peony plants. I have waited four years for it to bloom. In a time when the world has turned completely upside down, it bloomed. My heart was filled with hope as I cut that bloom yesterday and put it in a vase.

The House of Belonging

 Every Sunday I look forward to reading Maria Shriver's Sunday Paper. The purpose of this online newsletter is to " inspire hearts and minds, move humanity forward, live your wildly authentic life." Each week she writes an essay "I've Been Thinking" , which has been difficult for her in recent weeks because of all the heartbreaking events in our world. 

The newsletter also has interviews, book recommendations, recipes, and articles of interest. She always ends her newsletter with a poem. One poem she posted yesterday really resonated with me.

I love the last two lines. " There is no house like the house of belonging." I live in a house of belonging. I ask friends and family to come visit, I host dinners here, and I have surrounded myself with all the things I love. It is a small house, but it suits me just fine, It is my place of adult aloneness. 

I live with a dog and a cat.  I spend a lot of time alone and I find peace in the aloneness. Friends and family are close when I want companionship. I do miss my husband every day. I am blessed that he taught my how to embrace a well-lived life.

This is my house of belonging. I have worked diligently the last seven years to create a house that is surrounded inside and out with all the things I love in life. I definitely belong here.

You can find The Sunday Paper here.

Weeds Are Flowers Too!

 

I love this quote by A.A. Milne. It is late spring, we have had many rainy days, and the weeds are flourishing. It is certainly their season to shine.

Today I felt like I needed to get to know a whole bunch of weeds. I wish each and every one of those weeds was a flower. Weeding is just a part of the process of gardening. I try to break up weeding into smaller tasks as not to get overwhelmed. Today it worked.

When I weed I bring my favorite tools. I also have my water, iced coffee, and music. Today I had two dogs assisting. Riley is always with me, but today we were joined by his cousin Cleo. 

The weather was perfect. The weeds were plentiful. I discovered a bunch of new muscles. I felt a sense of accomplishment when I finished my first little section. Who could ask for more?