Seedlings

May 9, 2020

We lost a couple more seedlings in last night’s frost. Everything was covered, but not quite enough. The forecast for the next few days isn’t too promising for the little tenderlings, so we’ll have to be extra vigilant. Today we added more layers of covering; morning will tell if we were successful. A regular blizzard on the 9th of May—who would have imagined? Then again, who would have imagined six months ago that we would be shuttered inside, and when we do venture out, would be wearing masks to the store like we were planning on robbing the place? 

Since we haven’t been getting out much, I hadn’t done any Mother’s Day shopping. Even if I had, it would have been problematic. There was a time when the gift options were wide open; jewelry, flowers, a new outfit, something for the house, fine dining at a local restaurant...I could take my pick and hit the jackpot. But today we are at that comfortable age where there is little we want and even less that we need, and we both have gotten too practical to buy something just for the sake of buying it. When we were young, we couldn’t imagine being where we are today. Resources were slim, and so were we. Nothing sagged or creaked; we could hop out of bed in the morning, rested from a complete night’s deep sleep. 

I remember staring at this young woman standing beside me in a lace gown while intoning those words, “for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until we are parted by death.” We thought we knew all about love on that June evening, but turns out, we only knew how to pronounce the word. It’s taken a lifetime to learn the meaning of it, and back then, we couldn’t have imagined what the future held for us. It’s just as well; had we known in advance of the unpaved roads, of the potholes and detours, we might not have gotten into that car together. 

Like our frosty seedlings, some of what we planned withered in the unforeseen late spring blizzard. But we planted those seedlings because we dreamed of summer’s beauty, and we planted life’s seedlings with a vision that beckoned us onward. And in spite of unexpected storms and unforeseen restrictions, the garden bloomed and was even more beautiful than we imagined. And for me, most of that beauty lies beside me at night, sits across from the table at breakfast, and stands with me through the day. I am indeed, a blessed man.