Because of a dead owl
I was sobbing as I walked down the street. I had finally hit my breaking point and asked my husband to man the monitor during nap time so I could clear my head and try and get myself strapped in for the long spring and summer that was set to follow the already draining winter of 2019-2020.
Half a mile from the house, almost done crying, I was stopped in my tracks by a pile of beautiful white feathers. I knew I shouldn’t go further, but I had to look. There in the middle of the sidewalk was the most beautiful white owl. Just laying there peacefully dead.
I turned around. Started crying again and didn’t stop until I got to the front porch of my relatively new house. There I finally came up with some first steps I could take to make my first spring and summer in Michigan survivable. Somehow my first spring & summer of the pandemic wasn’t only survivable it was eye opening.
Quick backstory, I moved from Indianapolis to Grand Rapids, MI in the fall of 2019. Bought a house in December and was somewhat patiently waiting the end of winter so I could meet the neighbors. March of 2020 had other plans. Being trapped in a small house with a toddler, a dog, and a husband working from home was not ideal for anyone’s mental health.
So the eyeopening part….
Growing flowers wasn’t only good for my mental health it was good for the neighborhood. That small flower garden I planted in my front yard brought neighbors together, gave me a chance to meet more neighbors and to eventually share the bounty of my garden with others. It even gave me a chance to host a garden party with a dozen moms from the neighborhood.
My daughter used to tell people we lived in a garden.
She might not have been the only one. When we put our house on the market in January of 2022 to move back to Indianapolis our realtor told us that our house was called the flower house around the neighborhood. My heart beamed.
Now that we are house hunting in Indianapolis I am trying to figure out the sunny spot so I can do it all over again and build my community.
If you have recently navigated a life change, big move or just wish your neighborhood felt more like home join some like minded people in THE PINWHEELERS GARDEN CLUB and grow your own community & garden.
