Dear garden,
I hope we are still on speaking terms.
I know I have been very neglectful of you and the surrounding yard, and it pains me to see as much as it must pain you to feel so disheveled. This neglect is not done on purpose but still shames me and makes me blue.
I see you trying so valiantly to still poke and stick your heads out of the debris covered beds. Full of last years clutter of leaves, seed heads, sticks and stalks of lasts years blooms. What a mess!
Though when you still accomplish this difficult task you still shine and glow with color and make me smile.
It is like you understand my body is not ready to bend and dig to clean you up. I miss our dirty talk sessions and even cleaning and hauling last years messy glory to the compost or burn piles. You seem to understand. For that, I am thankful!
I even miss the battles we have when I reach around the more prickly plants and get a thorn or scratch from pulling away autumns past leftovers.
I stop and admire what little surprises you managed to push through the mulch mess that was not meant to stay. It says to me that you are waiting for me to come play and enjoy. And I can't wait!! It is hard to be patient when I see seedlings and last years flower stalks tormenting me, as if they are sticking out their tongues in jest that they got the chance to stick around longer than normal.
Dear garden, I will be back. I delight in what you struggle to show off, so it is not wasted energy. I see you! I pull up a little stray seedling or dandelion in my small jaunts from the car back to the house after physical therapy or doctor appointments. But soon we shall spend more time together getting dirty and then just looking pretty.
Thank you for living through my shame,
bearing this cross with dignity.
Hopefully I will not have to turn in my gardening tools for lack of use!
Until next time...
Readers have you ever felt the need to apologize to your garden, home or family because you have limitations that feels like weighted chains holding you down?
It is hard and boring,
but I have to keep reminding myself...
with time and physical therapy I am getting better!