Garlic was harvested today, although not the pictured garlic. Cosmos seedlings planted, other plants watered, holes dug. Through all the process our job is to see beauty as well as the potential of how things can go terribly wrong. Life with a toddler is to love and be loved. It is also to find patience you never knew you could muster. There is such simple joy, beauty, power, emotion, strength, energy and exhaustion. We try to understand the perspective of the child, we watch, we empathize with the parents, we remember, and we imagine.
![](https://www.catherinewhite.com/roughideas/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/17-summer-24-1-1024x590.jpg)
To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and the vulgar disparity of life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all, to watch. To try and understand. To never look away. And never, never to forget.
–Arundhati Roy, from The Cost of Living, Modern Library, 1999.
One reply on “#17 summer shards”
Summer has come here also, water immersion was also my dog’s plan. Soaking wet from the pond, smart dogs. Enjoy the wild ride with your grandson.