It’s December 31, and I was busy working on my Resolutions for the New Year, which begins tomorrow. But my heart is aching for my oldest grandchild whose first home was destroyed by a tornado. That happened a couple of days ago, “What can I give her, poor as I am?”
“What can I give her, poor as I am?”
I am truly a poor, starving artist, and that usually works for me, but for the first time in a long time, I wished I were rich. With money, I could fix that house, but because Emily is my grandchild who is predisposed to my emotional spins, I knew that money would not heal her heart and her spirit and her need to move forward.
Emily has been married for a bit over a year, and she is in college. Her precious husband had worked years to place a deposit on their sweet home; The marriage was postponed until there was a home and Emily had postponed college. But finally, Emily became a beautiful bride:
The wedding was outside,
She walked down the aisle to music from Lord of the Rings. The Bridal March was the Song from the Shire.
Her mother filled every nook and cranny with the flowers that she had arranged beforehand at home:
It seemed that my oldest grandchild was finally off toward a fairy tale life. But a bit more than a year later, a tornado brought all of us to our knees,
WIndows and doors were ripped from the walls, the roof was destroyed, both cars were totaled, At best, this house is out of commission for a while. I was truly concerned for these kids, but this morning, my grandchild posted something on Facebook that gave me hope:
Emily almost never posts on Facebook, but this morning she has signaled the world that she is still in the game–she has not folded her cards. I thought about the fabulous New Orleans-like double porch that extends into her backyard, and my plan for my New Year’s Resolution came to me:
“What can I give her, poor as I am?”
“If I were a shepherd, I’d give her a lamb.”
Well, I am not a shepherd, but I am a gardener: I have vowed to do something each month during 2025 to help my grandchildren start a Victory Garden–I am calling my New Year’s project Emily’s Garden.
It occurred to me that the Best New Year’s Resolutions may not be about what you promise to do for yourself. Perhaps the best resoultions are about doing for someone else–to pass it on. “Love isn’t Love til you give it away,”
Planning something wonderful is a way to stay engaged. The following is a list of Native Plants for Mississippi, month by month.
4 – Season Garden: A Year of Garden Native Perennial Plants – Garden Calendar
Here is a link to a Free Calendar for 2025:
Gardening is a way to heal, It is a way to stay involved with the process of living. It is a way to Grow, Here’s to Growing in 2025:
For the month of January. I have purchased a Pink Perfection Camellia for Emily’s Garden:
Following are the Native Plants that do well in Mississippi during January:
January
American Witch Hazel
Winterberry Holly
American Witch Hazel
American Witch Hazel – Image Credit Wikimedia
American Witch Hazel – Image Credit Flickr
Winter Berry Holly
Image Credit: Tennessee Nursery
https://www.tnnursery.net/
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