FICTION | LIFE LESSONS

Gardening Tips

Drabble (100-Word Story) — Subtle Lessons

I hoe the garden like you taught me — your lessons till over and under in my mind, like this rich earth churns.

“Gotta keep the weeds out,” you’d say. “A garden will strangle with all them weeds.”

I just thought you were a cantankerous old woman back then, taking advantage of my youthful strength.

“Plant good seed. You don’t get a good harvest with bad seeds.”

“Ya gotta wait ’til them berries are ripe. Don’t let anyone pluck ’em too soon.”

Now that you are gone, I see the wisdom in your words. More than just gardening. Mostly about life.

©2020 Lori Carlson. All rights reserved.

As the season draws closer and closer to harvest time, I am reminded of my paternal grandmother. She was not only an excellent gardener, food prepper, cook and all around amazing caregiver to her kids and grandkids, but she also had a way of teaching life lessons so subtly, that I am still learning some of their meanings. Perhaps she learned those lessons and how to tell them with such elegance and grace from her Cherokee grandmother.

If you enjoyed this story, perhaps you would enjoy this poem which is also about my paternal grandmother:

Lori Carlson writes poetry, fiction, articles and personal essays. Most of her topics are centered around Relationships, Spirituality, Life Lessons, Mental Health, and the LGBTQ+ community. She currently writes for Illumination,💜The POM💜 , The Friday Fix, House of Haiku, Know Thyself, Heal Thyself, The Purple Pen, Tempest in Under 1000, The Weekly Knob, The Rebel Poets Society, Heart Revolution, Share the Love, Spiritual Tree and Written Tales.