Grandma's Garden Lessons

Grandma's Garden Lessons (published in Legacy Magazine)

By Connie Whiting

Ever wish you could stop time? Just freeze it in its tracks.

Maybe harness it and roll it back, so that all your precious memories

are being lived again? If you could choose one special memory

and have it there to touch and smell and feel again, what would it be?

I'd go back to my Grandma's garden.

It wasn't a huge garden by the standards then. Grandma was a

country woman, small in stature but big in heart and giving. Her garden

reflected that. She planted in every nook and cranny she could. Vegetables,

flowers, berries and more. If she didn't preserve the produce in her glass canning jars

then it was given away to friends and neighbors.

I learned the value of hard work in that garden. I worked side by side with her more times than

I can remember. Planting, weeding, harvesting was all part of teaching me that every living thing

has a life cycle and you should respect life.

I can still see her there in my mind. Dressed in a cotton dress, dark knit stockings

black buttoned up shoes, a big white apron and a white bonnet, she looked like

a Norman Rockwell painting. The garden itself was alive with toads and butterflies

even hummingbirds.

True peace was relaxing in the shade sipping lemonade and eating homemade

molasses cookies after planting corn and beans all morning. It was a delicious

reward for all that hard work.

It was between those long rows that Grandma told me the secret of her and grandpa's long marriage.

"Looky here" she'd said pointing to the corn kernels and dried beans in my hand.

"That's just like me and grandpa"

"Yes, Ma'am" I replied remembering manners

and wondering if maybe grandma had been in the garden sun too long that day.

Chuckling to herself a minute and wiping the dirt on her apron, she continued.

"Grandpa is like the corn stalk, straight and strong, He shelters me and his family

from things that would hurt us". I nodded my head, but I still didn't know what she was

talking about.” I'm more like the bean ",she laughed.”Grandpa makes me feel secure and safe,

so I grow more in life, and I support him and help him like the bean does growing its vine along the corn stalk. See we help and care for each other just like the beans and the corn"

So it went each summer, I thought we were planting a garden, Grandma knew she was planting lessons

in love and life. The best thing from my grandma's garden though are the memories of a time when life was

sweeter, slower, and people still stopped to share the harvest and even smell a rose or two.
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Connie Whiting, an experienced freelance writer resides in Columbus, Ohio. She has written for numerous content companies and clients through her writing business at conniewhiting.com. Connie specializes in web content, article writing, and blogging among her wide range of available writing services. Connie can be reached at invsassist@yahoo.com.