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Dearest friends,
First, let me extend my heartfelt apologies for the radio silence. If you're reading this, that means you've stuck around during my absence, and I'm ever so grateful. I had to step away to care for my ailing mother, an event that, as you might imagine, turned my carefully curated plans on their heads.
Now, let's get to the heart of it.
This summer, my mother fell ill, and the vagaries of life took me far away from my usual refuge: the farm, the garden, and the soil that all seem to understand me better than any human ever could. The pull of familial love and duty wrenched me out of my garden and took me down to Florida with a bag hastily packed and a head full of worries. The seedlings I'd been caring for were on the cusp of blooming, and yet I hadn't finalized the grand plans for my garden—thanks in part to delays in greenhouse construction.
Here's the thing: Nature doesn't wait. It doesn't pause for our existential crises, our heartaches, or our neatly outlined plans.
"Get them in the ground," I told myself, echoing the very spirit of nature’s gardens that know no plans — they just are. So I did. I shoved aside the grand architectural garden designs fluttering in my mind. Sometimes, the game of life calls for a tactical shift, a change in strategy when faced with unexpected challenges. The rules bend, and so must we.
Now, as I return to my home sanctuary, I am greeted by an unexpected bounty. The figs are flourishing as if fueled by my absence. The lemon balm seems to have thrived in the soil of benign neglect. My garden, it turns out, had lessons to teach me: about resilience, about the surprising benefits of letting go, and about how overthinking can sometimes be the very enemy of progress. There's something almost comical about this ironic bounty — I guess less really is more.
Before I go, I'm going to commit to a weekly feature: My Five Favorite Things. It’s part a method of journaling for me, part “less is more” to reduce the pressure during weeks that may get the best of me and my writing, and, more importantly, it’s perhaps a chance for you to discover something new as well.
My Five Favorite Things:
What I'm Eating: Fresh-picked figs—nature's candy! 🍭
What I'm Growing/Harvesting: Lemon balm and chamomile, perfect herbal calm.
What I'm Reading: "A Book of Life" by Peter Kingsley. 🤯 It's shaping my perspective in extraordinary ways.
What I'm Grateful For: The life that blooms 🌸 even when unobserved; this summer has taught me that resilience is as natural as the seasons.
What’s the Big Goal this Week: Putting together the aquaponics system in the greenhouse. 🐠
Thank you for allowing me this space and for your patience. Here's to finding progress, even when perfection eludes us.
Love,
Jess
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