Firing up the Canon

The things that grow the fastest don’t always produce the best results. One thing that playing in my garden has made me aware of is the parallel that can be drawn between all forms of life. At the beginning of my planting experience I had a crop of kale and a crop of spinach that eagerly rose from the soil before anything else. I thought for sure I’d be harvesting plenty from those two crops. I doted on them, bragged on their successes and… just as my other plants were beginning their growth… I ended up having to dump these early risers in the composter. They went to seed too fast and stayed small. Today I was at lunch with a close friend of mine and through conversation I was able to see how this notion can too be true of relationships. Often things that seem overly fiery at first erupt prematurely and fade away before they ever reach the level of maturity that make them their very best. It’s the things that take a little more work at the beginning that have the chance to grow comp...

A losing contest entry. A winning lifetime. This entry because I miss her, her voice, her visits, her sayings - her life. Oh, Honey “What do you know that’s new,” my great-grandmother, known affectionately as Honey, inquired as I entered the nursing home for the second night that week. The truth was, not much was “new” in my life since the last time I had seen her. Yet, “nothing” didn’t seem to be an adequate answer. Certainly not the answer to give a 93 year old woman living in a cold cell with ails and hours of loneliness. After all, here in front of me was a woman living with the third stranger she’d have for a roommate; the third stranger, after decades in a house with her daughter, granddaughter, grandson, and eventually even her great-granddaughter. The third stranger, when family is what she needed most. So, in that moment I became grown-up and put her reality before mine. I told Honey the details of my day, which contrary to how I felt, proved interesting to her. Later...

I haven't been over here to write in a while, but that doesn't mean I'm not writing. If you want to see what I've been up to lately - come visit me at my garden blog . I'll be back here soon. :)