garden photos, gardens, Life, Loss, Mental Health, Photos

The Summer Change in the Arendelle Garden Beds

Corrie's Mom

When Mom bought tulips for the Butterfly Garden three years ago, I knew very little about gardening.

It was June, one year and one month after Corrie’s sudden death. I understood enough about gardening to consider: I don’t think it’s the right time of year for these.

I put the three tulips in the ground, and sure enough, the flowers quickly died. The bulbs didn’t produce the next spring, either.

Before Corrie’s sudden death on May 27, 2020; I never believed I’d experience a greater love than what I feel for my children, husband, family, and the art of writing. While I wrote a lot in the two years after, it gradually dropped off due to the effect of my medication. It sometimes makes me ambivalent, and takes away interest in writing.

But, I became a gardener. I am not an expert, compared with my experience and education in writing.

A daylily I’d planted last fall in the side garden bed in Corrie’s Arendelle Garden.
It’s a little hard to see where I replaced the pansies with petunias because the day lilies are about to show off.

As I discuss in today’s TikTok video I made about the side bed in Corrie’s Arendelle Garden, my daughter inspired me. I never had an interest. The act of gardening saved me, gave me an outlet for my grief, and also released a part of Corrie back into the world.

Writing, pictures and video by R.A. Bridges

Published by Corrie's Mom

They say teacher turn over is high right now, and many teachers will leave the profession in five years or less. I will enter my seventh year as a full-time teacher, and my 12th year in education after I'd started as a sub and teacher assistant. I was the student in the 1990s you did not want in your classroom because I was diagnosed with ADHD and did not know how to socialize with other kids. I was due to be tested for autism, but this was considered an ostracizing experience for a child then, especially a girl. I am a third generation teacher and author of seventeen creative works.

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