July has brought milestones, twists, celebrations, and goodbyes in the Garden.
Sam enrolled in community college (my baby!) and is looking forward to his classes (though not the hour bus ride each way)
We attended the reception ball for two of our fellow dancers on the 4th of July
but missed the fireworks while having dinner with friends
The negotiations for the merger continue, so things are still a bit unsettled at work~ I do my best to focus on still having a job in a state with 11% unemployment.
The garden is beginning to produce after a very slow start
we've been enjoying Armenian Curl cucumbers
and the occasional crook-neck or zucchini squash
four tomatoes were planted this year, though only one is really flourishing
and we'll have our first Persian melon in the next week
Poppy peruses the bush beans
but Dahlia goes straight to sampling the grapevines
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Yesterday morning, I sat down to read Thursday's paper with my cuppa, and the day came to a screeching halt. As I was flipping through the pages, a face in the obituaries caught my eye~ curiosity turned to shock when I realized that it was Doug, my first boyfriend. Thirty years rolled away and I started to cry; I was fourteen, he was eighteen, the brother of my friend, and we met at square dancing. He gave me his class ring, which I wore proudly on a chain around my neck, and introduced me to Motown, flea markets, roller coasters, and escargot. He hurt my pride, rather then my heart, when we broke up, but we remained friends nevertheless. Doug was like that~ fickle, funny, and a friend to everyone.
It was a God-thing; the memorial was being held that afternoon in the Bay Area and I had a floating holiday coming to me. I was able to attend, paying my respects to his family and saying goodbye to the sweet boy of my memory; the most poignant thing for me was seeing his dance shoes next to his photo. A good number of the former Young Rebels (our teen square dance/clogging club) were in attendance; we spent the dinner renewing friendship and sharing memories from a lifetime ago, parting with email addresses and pledges to get together for a reunion event.
I do hope that won’t be the end of it, but too often it takes events like this to bring us together again.
9 comments:
Happy, sad, and sweet. The memories that you share. And you end with a beautiful flower. I am glad that you are doing well.
Big hugs,
Becca
I am so glad you were able to go and pay your respects - love it when God puts something right in front of us like that! :o)
I've missed you Meg.
That does sound like a God thing to have everything work out just right. It's too bad it takes a sad event to get us together with people like that, but life just seems to march on, doesn't it? I hope you are able to have that reunion, I've found just setting a date and doing it works best in such situations!
My garden is having a tough time too. Just too darn much rain this year. My tomatoes, that were amazingly tall, are just wilting from it. And my poor watermelons that would be wonderful, have been eaten by Mr. Cottontail and his cohorts!
Hope your day is smiling!
Sad and sweet.
It was nice that you were able to attend.
So much going on in your life: good, challenging, and heart-breaking. I'm sending virtual hugs.
Sorry to hear about your old friend, but happy to hear that you're alive and kicking.
Your garden looks great! I picked my first few peppers this week along with my first cuke. Let the veggies begin! :)
I am sorry about the death of your former boyfriend but I am glad you were able to attend the memorial service and reconnect with old friends.
He must have been young if he is only 4 years older than you. Sad.
So glad you had the opportunity to celebrate Doug's life and meander a bit in some of those poignant memories...
It was nice that you were able to attend.
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