I’m going through garden withdrawal. With the weather we’ve been having — cold, wind, rain — I haven’t been in my yard much except to check to make sure things are okay. Everything is fine, mostly because we were out of the path of the snowfall that was dumped in the mountains and on the major cities in Colorado. The only problem is that my grass is growing quickly (apparently, it likes the cold) and I haven’t been able to mow it. It’s not a problem for me because I don’t mind long grass, but it is a problem for the mower because it does mind long grass. Still, I am grateful for such a silly problem. So many people have real problems that devastate their lives. Of course, I’ve had such problems too, but not currently.
It’s funny that without a problem to discuss, a new flower to show, an onerous task to accomplish, I have nothing to say. (Though as you can see, I still manage to say something.)
It’s a good thing I go to work today because otherwise all I’d do is sit and laze around here because without spending time out in my yard, I’ve been able to catch up on the inside chores. There isn’t a layer of dust nagging at me or dingy floors screaming for attention or laundry that’s waiting patiently for me to get desperate for clean clothes. Even my gardening journal is caught up (which for some reason I have a hard time remembering to update) by dint of the fact that there’s been no gardening for me to do.
I’m not even worrying about anything. It helps that because I work so few days now, I seldom see the news. (The only time I watch the news is when the woman I help care for wants to watch.)
There is one task I could do but I keep putting it off because it entails a trip to the post office. A friend moved to a different country in Europe, and I don’t have her new email address. The way I figure, if she wants to hear from me, she should have given me that email address, and since she didn’t, it’s her fault she hasn’t heard from me. As you can see, the use of email sure has spoiled me! Admittedly, the local post office isn’t anywhere near the problem those in major cities are, but it’s still time consuming to mail a letter for overseas. One of these days, I will send her a note, if for no other reason than to be able to cross off that item from my to-do list.
But for today, I will be glad that except for the unwritten note, this time is so uneventful. As soon as this cold spell passes and my garden withdrawal a thing of the past, I’ll have more than enough work to keep me busy.
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Pat Bertram is the author of Grief: The Inside Story – A Guide to Surviving the Loss of a Loved One. “Grief: The Inside Story is perfect and that is not hyperbole! It is exactly what folk who are grieving need to read.” –Leesa Healy, RN, GDAS GDAT, Emotional/Mental Health Therapist & Educator.
Bertram's Blog 
May 24, 2022 at 3:24 am
Your friend does not have a new address mail if the person has already a mail address like xxx@aol.com, @Yahoo.com, @gmail.com etc.
Only to use internet locally must have a internet provider. Lots of people use public wifi services even it is less security. Providers naturally give a mail address. Some personal reasons you friend might be occupied.
Or health related problems.
If she is using common email address you can send a reminder to know how she is getting on !
May 24, 2022 at 7:03 am
Her previous email ended in .nl. It finally dawned on me that’s a Netherlands email address where she lived when I first “met” her, and she now lives in a rural area in France. She contacts me via paper mail.
May 24, 2022 at 8:45 am
Is that an old timey push mower, or one with a battery. Some mowers you can adjust the height so you can mow whenever you want. Good luck. I take it you don’t have a tv.
May 24, 2022 at 9:38 am
That’s not my mower, just a free photo. The height on my mower is adjusted as high as it can go. It should be okay, though who knows when I’ll be able to mow. It’s been raining for hours and will rain for most of the day.
I actually have two televisions, just no television programing for them. When I first got here, I checked movies out of the library, but I haven’t watched a movie in almost three years. I wonder if those televisions still work?