by Daisy Peasblossom

Created on: February 14, 2010   Last Updated: March 30, 2010

It had been a rough couple of years.  A good friend and my mother had passed from this world in April and in May.  My grandmother had a stroke in the late autumn after my mother's death, and I had put aside my work plans to take care of her.  The results had been less than stellar, and after Grandmother had another stroke that left her incapacitated, the nursing home had been the only choice.  About that same time, I learned that my ex had been engaged in activities of questionable legality; the upshot of which had been I divorced him in order to retain custody of my children.  I worked at two jobs through much of the winter; cut wood for the cooking range that was our only heat, and hauled more gallons of water than I care to think about for cleaning and cooking.

When spring rolled around, I was exhausted emotionally, mentally and physically.  But I still had two children at home to feed.  On an early Saturday morning, I gathered up the seed packets left from the previous year (I'd had no time to order new), and set out for the sunny hillside where my garden plot was located.  The sun was bright, but the air still had that crisp bite that warns of possible frosts yet to come.  I thrust my spade into the earth, relieved to find that last year's tilling had left the earth relatively loose an easy to dig.  As I turned the earth, it gave off that good dirt smell.  An earth worm or two wriggled away into the soil.

The cats and dogs joined me at my endeavors.  One of the dogs dug at a spot, poking her nose in, then clearing the dirt from her nostrils with a sneeze.  My daughter came by, and viewed my labors for a moment.  

"I like the way you do that,"she said, looking at the growing bed.  "It starts out all tangly and messy, and when you are done it is clean and neat."  I smiled.  Praise from my girl was rare.  At this time, when she was in her early teens, our relationship was a stormy one.  She joined me, clearing away dead weeds and we worked companionably for a while.  She tired of this activity and went on to do something else, and I continued to work by myself for a bit.

When the beds were dug, I settled for a moment on a rock at the edge of one of them.  The sun was warm; the cats and dogs settled down to nap-some on the turned earth, one or two cuddled against me.  As I sat there, a little black cat came out of the wood and approached.

"Hey there, fella,

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