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Inspired gardening
“A garden should make you feel you’ve entered privileged space — a place not just set apart but reverberant — and it seems to me that, to achieve this, the gardener must put some kind of twist on the existing landscape, turn its prose into something nearer poetry.” ~Michael Pollan, Second Nature: A Gardener’s Education Gardening is one of the healthiest ways to express our creativity. It’s a great way to absorb Vitamin D while plotting borders or containers of colorful blooms, plunging our hands in water and soil, and inhaling the deep-green aromas of rosemary, thyme, and basil. I owe my mother a bucket of gratitude for inspiring my passion…
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A random still life, an everyday love poem
Then all the moments of the past began to line up behind that moment.” — Billy Collins Billy Collins sees art in the ordinary acts of daily life. In “This Much I Do Remember,” Collins recalls a tender moment that most couples can relate to: the leisurely hour at the dinner table after a good meal has been shared. The woman he’s addressing in this poem is his wife of many years. I fight tears every time I read this piece. It deftly underscores the familiar comfort of a long marriage, reminding me of my own. As Collins wisely points out, the simple, everyday moments we share are the foundation of…
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When in God’s name?
“In addition to needed gun control reforms, America urgently needs a stronger protest movement dedicated to reducing the glorification of violence in our culture — in music, film, television, video games, and on the Internet.” ~Bernice King Tuesday was one of those gorgeous May afternoons, sunny and cloudless. After another trip to the plant store, I prepped my herb garden bed, trimmed a shrub, pulled a few weeds, and admired my handiwork. Then I started an upbeat post for this blog — a post about spending a perfect day in the garden. Hours later, however, I learned about the massacre at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, and realized that it…
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What did you expect?
“Never expect anything less than you deserve. But never expect anything more than you are willing to give.” ~Jen Groover, entrepreneur After stumbling on this quote, I spent the rest of the day thinking about expectations and how they impact our lives. First, I considered the times I’ve eaten at trendy five-star restaurants, only to feel duped when my meals fell short of the rave reviews I’d heard or read. At the same time, I also recalled a few neighborhood diners that surprised me with delicious, creative entrees. Then I thought about past projects that flopped and people who’ve disappointed me. I thought about the times I settled for less…
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Glittering magical moments
“Life is made up of moments, small pieces of glittering mica in a long stretch of gray cement. It would be wonderful if they came to us unsummoned, but particularly in lives as busy as the ones most of us lead now, that won’t happen. We have to teach ourselves how to make room for them, to love them, and to live, really live.” ~Anna Quindlen, A Short Guide to a Happy Life One of the lovely things about aging is that we can view the highlights of our lives through the lens of retrospect. At first, we might focus on the major milestones — weddings, graduations, births, exotic vacations, trophies,…
