Every Day I Marvel

The summer before Jake died he spent hours and hours helping me in the garden. He was delighted with vegetables. He loved watching flowers grow and bloom. He was sad at the end of the season, when the gardens were dormant until the next season. It was no surprise, then, after Jake died, that I couldn’t face the garden. Every bean stalk held memories of Jake. Every green pepper reminded me of his wonder in his newfound knowledge of male peppers and female peppers. The corn stalks taunted me with their growth. It was as if they were saying to me that they could live on even though Jake could not.

This morning when I went out to feed the chickens I was grumpy. It was raining. It was muddy. I resented this simple task. John offered to do it but I said no. The girls are always excited to…