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Show Thoughts From The Garden... by Tonya LeMone "Don 't cry because it's over... smile because it happened" When I received news of the ending of the Timpanogos Times in the paper last week, I was sad because I didn't get the opportunity to say good bye to my faithful readers, those who have sent me encouraging notes in the mail, left sweet phone messages, and face to face conversations of gratitude. I was not only amazed that people actually read my column, but for 95 consecutive weeks I could come up with something to write about and have it make any sense at all. My subjects have been things in my life that have made me stop, look and listen a little harder. Ideas that made me take a mental note and jot down a thought about life or a person and how that experience affected me in some small way. It's been a little "life journal" of thoughts from my humble little garden in Lindon to those of you in our community. Thank you to good friends who have said some little phrase like "It's the makings of you girl," or a great recipe shared, or a group of young ladies in their prime of raising children, husbands or careers who found enough joy in my garden they wanted to host an event here. Thank you to bad food at local restaurants or people who can't hang a wreath correctly or the awful weather we experience all winter long. Thank you to such a wonderful thing as a tree that grows in our garden and the appreciation I have for herbs, old buildings, chairs and the importance of good neighbors. I am thankful for my grandmother and aunties who taught me all I know about homemaking, the ups and downs we have with our dog, Jack, and last but certainly not least, a husband who often shakes his head and mumbles under his breath at my request but willingly moves forward with an idea I received in my sleepless hours at night. Thank you to the simple pleasure of warm bread hot out of the oven and how "thirty loaves in thirty days" changed my life forever, and to discover that when the world ceases to inspire, there is always the garden. And how the things that grow in the garden are not always to look at or edible. For many, things that grow in the garden were never, sown there. I have learned to look for a clothesline in a garden and am thankful we live in a community that does not ban a clothesline but encourages it. I have learned that the most noteworthy thing about gardeners is that they are always optimistic, and never satisfied, and how a stile connects neighbor to neighbor and expresses love and friendship. I will never learn to love mice but only despise them more and will not have a place to write about my absolute distaste for them. Because of my ' articles my potting shed came to be, the pressure of the public" motivates! The front porch of a house has new meaning because I have taken notice of this simple pleasure our grandparents made a very important part of their lives. I came to the realization also that not everyone loves to garden, even some of my family members proclaim that gardening is overrated. While researching for my articles, Leonardo da Vinci taught me that "simplicity is the ultimate sophistication," a concept my husband and family say I can't seem to grasp... whatever! But that no matter what age you are or what your circumstances might be, we are all special and have something very unique to offer, and even though we all have trials, hopefully, they will only last as long as our New Years resolutions. Eleanor Roosevelt taught me to look fear in the face and do the things you think you cannot do like swimming or horse riding; and if we knew we would never fail, what would we do? These are all the things I have learned this last few years while writing for the Timpanogos Times. It has changed me. It has stretched me beyond my college years of writing. I hope it was a good journey for you as well. I hope you laughed, cried and sometimes asked why? Thank you again for the encouraging words, the sweet notes, and most of all, thank you for reading my "Thoughts from the Garden". But more importantly, keep reading. It is good for the soul and "don't cry because it is over. . .smile because it happened." See you in the Garden. ... |