I am surrounded by many people who are gardeners. We all plant little seeds in our own ways, using the gifts we're given and entrusted with for a lifetime.
Today I'm remembering Heather Robinson, a beautiful soul with whom I had the great joy of learning Torah many years ago as she prepared for conversion to Judaism. Over the year and a half that we studied together we became friends. She was a fiber artist, whose specialty was knitting (and beautifully! There's a sweater here that she made for my birthday).
Heather was not in great health when we began our journey together. She was elderly and housebound and wanted "to die Jewish". But along the way, her delight in LIVING Jewish was infectious. She planted tiny seeds of joy in people along the way. Her conversion ceremony was quiet, elegantly simple and very sweet. She lived for only six or seven more months after that. And when she died, she was buried in a Jewish cemetery. As we lit a yahrtzeit candle for her today, Sweetie commented, "Heather is probably knit-bombing Heaven now." It was perfect, and made me laugh out loud.
Today I'm grateful for my friend Alison, who wanted to help out with the bike project but lives in El Paso and knows nothing about bicycles. So instead she ordered eight bicycle locks for me online and has arranged to have them sent to me. One of them will go with this lovely beauty, which I built up with a donated frame and parts from The Pile, and finished this morning.
Today I'm blessed by my wife, who understands how hard depression is to live with and who is patient with me when I struggle. Fifteen years into our marriage we have learned how to love and help each other without judging each other. It takes time to learn how to find the balance and I am grateful to have found a partner who is as willing to do this good work of relationship as I am.
And today, I'm grateful that I somehow found a way out of my gloom so I could push my bicycle pedalstroke by pedalstroke up the hill and revel in the sunshine on my back.
I hope there will be more good days like this.
Happy riding.
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