It is spring and the weeds, grown strong and well-fed from a winter’s worth of rain, are asserting their place in my yard. I know that to make room for my big garden dreams I have to pull out the determined roots of these humble plants. But as I contemplate the task, I wonder why we have chosen the weeds and not the flowers for some of the most treasured of the small rituals we share with our children?
She let go of the chords that tethered her here. At 96, my grandmother had lived fiercely and well. She wore her lipstick firmly in place to the end. When dignity threatened to escape her grasp she held fast to her not-inconsiderable opinions. Her blue eyes, a little faded, newly shadowed, could nevertheless still blaze. She stunned me not by dying, but by doing it, right to her last moments, on her terms.
Two sets of indignant blue eyes snagged me in their glare.
“Why are you always such a freak when you have people over?”
They say children keep you young. They also keep you honest.
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EarnestGirl wears her opinions and her heart on her sleeve in Vancouver, B.C. She writes about the stuff we don’t always say out loud, the questions we don’t ask often enough, the ugly bits and the awe inspiring moments of life and motherhood.
In her alternate life, Catherine Jackson is a mother and writer with a background in theatre and TV. EarnestGirl Chronicles are an opportunity to finish all those interrupted conversations we begin with one another when we are supposed to be doing everything else.
Follow EarnestGirl on Twitter: @earnestgirl
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