Forget-Me-Not
When I was a young girl, my favorite memory was watching my mom work in the garden. It brought me comfort to see her quietly working with the warm earth to create a satisfying bounty of flowers and vegetables in the family garden. When I was 20, I wanted to start my own garden. My mom and I spent hours planning how my garden would be laid out as she thought back to how her garden was laid out when I was little.
Our connection to the earth is carved out by the people who mentor us in our lives. They teach us the value in what the earth is able to provide us, and the mutual respect that must be given back to the earth from us.
I wanted to think of something special for all of you this Earth Day. 20 years ago I lost my mother in May….the year we planned for my garden. It was very hard for me to understand. I continued on with the garden, as I knew she would want me to. One day, when I was working, I was greeted by the tiniest, cheeriest little blue flowers. Forget-me-nots. I couldn’t help but think it was my mom, letting me know she was there by my side, helping me in the garden.
This year, with the Covid-19 Crisis, there are so many things I want to make sure I don’t forget. How I’m feeling, my loved ones, and all God’s gifts we are blessed with everyday. I want you to have an opportunity to plant some forget-me-knots that will return every spring to remind you of what you don’t want to forget. Maybe it will be the start of a new tradition with your child or grandchild. Maybe it will be in memory of someone or something. The flowers are yours to decide what tradition they will hold.
I’d like to take a special moment to thank Adam’s mom Sandy, my special “Earthly” mother, for also teaching me so much about the earth through farming and gardening. Adams’s Forget-me-knots came from my Mama’s garden. We are all interconnected with each other and with the earth, with past and future generations, so much more than we sometimes stop to think about. May this Earth Day be one you never forget. XOXO, Caitlin
FREE FORGET-ME-NOT packet of seeds for Earth Day while supplies last.
