I stepped outside to run an errand, and when I looked down, a bloom caught my eye. I wasn’t expecting it. I smiled.
Last year, my Mom visited and planted a garden at my house as a gift to me. So kind. We made sure to pick out perennial plants so they would return each year.
For more than one reason, that was probably a great idea. Because I am sad to tell you that not long after she left, some critter ate a lot of the blooms.
But here they are, one year later, returning. And one year later, my Mom is making me smile, even though she isn’t in Michigan.
This makes me think that people we know and love are embedded in so many things we see, do, and experience every day. We have made memories at this place or with this object. This person always loved this smell, this taste, this scenery. We sang this song together. We had a conversation right here.
This happens all the time. And this little butterfly bush reminds me to keep looking.
—Renee Roederer
Smuggling Grace 