On Birth, Death, and Everything in Between

It's spring break and I found that this is a perfect time to start my garden. So, on Saturday, I picked up some plants and seeds and I began digging up my flower bed. It took most of the day, but by dusk, I had a fully functioning herb garden complete with rosemary, basil, cilantro, parsley, and lavender.

The next day, we delved into the main garden. Out back, our yard has been neglected by years of uninterested tenants. Most of the yard is absent of grass, and compact dirt spots have taken it's place. So, with a few tools and a lot of motivation, we took to digging our plot. We began at noon and by 7:00pm we had dug, aerated, and fertilized a spot that ended up being 7' by 10'. We planted our tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, spinach. We then sowed our carrot seeds and watered the garden. We were finished. Now all we have left to do is watch nature do it's thing and marvel at the life we have created. After all, to me there are few things better in life than seeing something I have created flourish.

I was elated. The gardens were done and I was now getting excited about going to D.C. this weekend. But, as we had just finished sowing the last seed of life into our garden, we received a call that would bring a dark cloud over it all. My husband's grandfather is in the hospital. He has lung cancer (never smoked) and it has spread. With that, things seemed to crumble. So, now, we are in a different mode. The excitement of new life taking root and new experiences has been replaced with the somberness of a life ending. So, I guess, the cycle of life continues.

Instead of going to D.C. this weekend, we are scrambling to make last minute plans to go to Memphis. There we will say our goodbyes I suppose. This will, more than likely, be the last time we see him. The doctors have said that he has days, weeks, maybe months. But, since they said that, he has had a turn for the worse. No one there is optimistic about the situation.

I will be leaving here on Thursday. You will probably not hear from me from Thursday through Monday of next week. I will more than likely not have access to the internet. I'm sorry I will not be joining my friends in D.C. I hope that we can one day meet. For now though, the unpredictability of life will force us to go our separate ways.