Month: October 2018

And Then There Was One

And Then There was One

My rational mind knows that the earth rotates at a constant rate.
However, I can’t help but feel that it must be speeding up.

I imagine I’m 16 years in the past, sitting atop a large vinyl record spinning on a turntable. My young family in a tight circle of warm embrace in the center of the album playing the music of our lives. There is no daylight between us. The player’s going slowly and the harmonic sound is sweet and simple even with many pops and scratches as the early years roll by.

The pace imperceptibly quickens as the kids grow. Centrifugal force begins to pull us all outward. Our hands now firmly grasped yet we can easily stand together as we spin. The melody is more complex, but the smooth rhythm plays on.

The speed unrelentingly building and the outward forces, not unkindly, but without sympathy increase. They learn to drive, their independence blooms. The music becomes more improvisational like jazz with players going on rifts of their own, but still coming back to the melody.

And that’s where we are. Only Hannah having a first day of school and Jack going away in a few weeks.

It’s easy to see into the not too distant future that the speed of the turntable will get to the point where they fly off to be the center of their own album. It’s as it should be.

I hope the music we made always runs through them fondly as a familiar refrain as they create their own symphony.
I can’t wait to hear it.Hannah

Marriage is a Garden

Twenty years ago today, we started our garden.
We had just the semblance of a plan and unbridled enthusiasm.
We grew up seeing many beautiful gardens, but also plenty that were overgrown and desiccating.
We were confident that with love and determination, ours would be the former.

It would not be a perfectly ordered set of rows with packets on stakes clearly marking what lay beneath. Our style was, and continues to be, a bit free form.
With laughter, a sense of adventure and a common desire to be together in real time, we made a nutrient rich soil that saw many easy to grow, cheerful perennials popping up all over.

Our first serious effort was when we planted what we thought was a rose. What germinated was a magnificent yet complex orchid, complete with hidden tunnels and unfamiliar structures. We continue to nurture that beautifully unique flower and be amazed by its colorful emergence.

Our second major endeavor did produce a glorious rose complete with strong roots and early sharp thorns. With great pride and loving guidance, we watch with wonder it as it blooms brightly with a joyous spirit happily opening to the sun.

Nature needs no magic, and our garden is no Eden.
We plant together, yet just as importantly, plant seeds of our own. We tend to each other’s efforts and no individual patch grows too tall to cast stifling shadows.
Our cacophony of flora needs constant attention to make sure the weeds get plucked early, the weevils are kept at bay and unnecessary fertilizer is washed away quickly.

Thank you, Susan, for getting your hands dirty, digging deep, hitting rocks yet moving on, for growing older yet never growing up.
Our garden will continue to be the focus of my life.
I love you madly. Happy Anniversary.

 20 years