Planting Day
When I was little, I often helped my mother plant our family's garden. As soon as the chilly winds of Chicago winter gave way to spring, Mom would be outside with a spade(铁 锹), seed packets, gardening gloves, and a secret smile. I would kneel by her side for hours, carefully digging holes and pushing seeds into the earth. We would spend hour after hour repeating the process.
Unfortunately, as I grew up, I found better ways to spend the first days of spring. After all, I was too old to kneel in the dirt all day planting some silly seeds.
Surprisingly, my mother never said much about my decision until two years ago, the spring I turned 14. I was on my way to a friend's house when Mom stopped me.
"Would you please help me with the planting today?" she asked.
"Oh, Mom, I was just getting ready to leave," I said. "I'll probably be gone most of the day."
She looked up for a moment as I walked past, and from the corner of my eye I saw a certain pain and sadness in her gaze(注视). At first my heart told me I should stay to help, but as I got farther from home and closer to an exciting day of hanging out with friends, I forgot it. I didn't think much about that day until nearly a year later.
One of my father's good friends suddenly lost his wife to cancer. The doctors hadn't discovered Sara's illness until it was too late. She died shortly after the diagnosis(诊断), leaving behind her husband and two small, confused children.
Right away, Mom went south to visit the family and spent a few hours with little Rachel. When she came home, she told me this story.
When Sara had received her terminal diagnosis, she asked her husband, "What should I leave our children? How do I give them something to remember me by, a symbol of my love for as long as they live?"
Mom learned the answer from Rachel.
"Mommy made me my own garden," Rachel said, as she led Mom outdoors. The garden was a masterpiece, in which a piece of Sara's heart and soul was left in full bloom for her children.
As I listened to my mother tearfully tell Sara's story, I realized the true power of a garden.
……
A few weeks later, I came home to find several bags of seeds on the kitchen table.
