dear ms b-its been a year

DEAR MS B-ITS BEEN A YEAR

ms b
we have been here a year next monday
when we packed all we could into our two cars
leaving everything else in texas either donated
or sold or given away
all our heirlooms and other keepsakes were filtered
through and given away or discarded or kept
our loved ones were given the option to keep what
they wanted
what wasnt retained is now all gone

we did the job that kids usually have to do when their
parents leave this earth
we did all the sorting and deciding ourselves
sparing you and your dad and uncle from having to
do it

off we drove for two days across the middle of america
to arrive in what we call paradise

i realized ms b that i never look at my weather app on
my iphone anymore
since i dont need to since the weather is always usually
perfect here

can you tell ms be we like it here so far

for me the biggest joy has been to introduce you to the garden
where i have my two plots
ive made you a 4 ft bed for you to dig around in
and water and pick the produce in your beds

so far ms b
youve eaten a couple yellow tomatoes from your tomato plant
eaten several green beans
why last week you wondered over and picked several ripe
strawberries and plunked them into your mouth also
then i went around to the kids garden and grabbed a couple
of blueberries for you

just past where we are standing is your
giant big ole pumpkin plant
that has whats now a baby pumpkin on it

just farther over from that is a big ole giant sunflower
thats yours that will have a sunflower bigger than your
head
can you believe that

i also ms b introduced you to the big ole compost pile
where you could take your two garden tools to scratch
and dig around until you found those wiggling worms
that make you cackle as you watch them wiggle

then you and my wife she dug around the edge of the childrens
garden bed looking for things to dig up
like those wiggling worms that made you laugh so much
ok hopefully when you read this you will be much older
and will understand this
but
i confess
when you werent looking i dumped a handful of worms
into the hole you just dug and covered them up
you were so excited when you found them
it was worth it at the time i did it

you always well its the first thing you do when you enter the
the garden
you go right to the chickens
you bravely feed them old bread and their favorite swiss chard
which i pick from the big garden
it allows me to clean up the swiss chard plants removing any
damaged leaves
you and the chickens could care less about that

then you also like to clean out the birdbath with the bluebird
in it
ok i understand you just like to play in the water
it serves three purposes
the birds get fresh water
the chard and strawberries get water from the spillage
you get to play in the water

its a win win win

over the last year
you have developed a familiarity with the garden
that was my goal all along
you dont mind picking up worms or digging in the dirt
you can easily spend an hour or two in the garden
its almost become your playground each week
when we pick you up from your nearby preschool

i sometimes watch our neigbor across the way
who has alzheimers wandering outside getting lost
one day the police brought him back home

i know ms b that will be my fate one day
sorry but its in the cards

i want you when i start doing that to read this and
hopefully you can remember this all and me
at my best

yes ms b
its been a year now
a real good year
we as my wife she your gma and i discussed
have absolutely no regrets

the organicgreen doctor