you should read her blog, if she isn't your favorite too.
recently she got chickens and she and her dad are building a coop for the little chics. makes me miss my daddy and all the fun we had together building and being out in nature, always his assistant, even when all i did was complain because it was sooo hot, or enjoy our project of the day immensely.
growing up, i spent a lot of time with my dad. he always gardened organically before organic was cool. we would start the garden in the basement under a bright light until all the plants were ready to be moved outside and then we would start all over.
we would pick blackberries together, and then he would let me sell them at our local convenient store for $8.00 a gallon and let me keep the money. knowing good and well, that it was he that did the majority of the work. he always built me up and praised me.
we built a deck together once, and he let me design it around a tree. so there would be natural shade at all times because the center of the deck was a huge tree. knowing that years later, the tree would have to be cut because of growth, he still let me do it my way. i feel confident that today i could build a deck with the best of them.
and you know, as much as i know i complained and whined, because i am a girl, was a teenager and you get it...i NEVER ever remember my dad saying a cross word to me. never. he was happy to be with me and i knew it and felt it. he gave me time. time when he would have done the job at hand without me in half the time or less. i genuinely felt like he needed me.
i learned so much from him.
just this year, brad and i planted a container garden for the first time. i feel like that is such a piece of my dad with me as i watch the seeds take roots and turn into vegetables that will be on our table soon. makes my heart happy. (let's hope they grow...)
if you've read my blog for a while, you know my dad has dementia and and has to have around the clock care. he often makes no sense but then sometimes he seems to have light behind his eyes and he's with it.
tuesday i had surgery and my parents came up to check on their girl, and before my mom could get my dads walker out of the back of the car, before she could help him swing his long 6'3'' body out of the car, he saw me and said in his whispered tone, "how's your garden? what did you plant, girl?"
i was never more proud than to tell him, we had green beans, squash, bell peppers, japelenos, tomatoes...
and the reason i planted those things, is because everything i knew about a garden, i had learned from him.
here's what you should have taken away from this run on blog:
1. read ashleyannphotography. she's amazing.
2. yes, i did have surgery on tuesday and today i am still recovering.
3. i planted a garden this year. and will keep you updated about it's progress.
4. progress. if there is none, i will so go buy the vegetables at kroger and tell you they are fresh out of my amazing garden.
5. just kidding.
6. maybe.
7. i am proud to be my parents daughter.
8. i am starting a 15 day juice cleanse in the next few days (since i can't workout for two weeks). that has nothing to do with anything other than...pray for me. that's two weeks and a lot of juice.
9. let the good times roll.
No comments:
Post a Comment