They’re all over the property, these beautiful wild roses, which just a month or so ago I was cutting down because they are also known as pesky brambles. And they’re a pain in the tush. But for a few weeks every June, they bloom and there are clouds of sweet scented white flowers everywhere.
Here they are flanking the path to one of our crabapple trees, just off the secret garden. I wish they bloomed all summer long.
The second day of the first rose to bloom. So lovely.
Soon to be gone poppies.
Opening any day now. About a week later than usual – the first time that’s happened in the 12 years we’ve lived here.
On the porch.
The tragic suicides of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain this week are deeply shocking and very sad. Despite money, fame and all the things that we on the outside think must make for a perfect life, we never truly know the battles that are being waged in private. For anyone. I’ve lost more than a few friends to suicide. It’s heartbreaking and seemingly senseless to those who are left behind. “But she had a child!” “He had an amazing job and life!” “But he/she was rich!” “How could you leave a child behind?”
It’s a tragic permanent solution for the person who, in that one moment in time, can see no other solution to the pain that rages within. When nothing matters but relief.
Remember to be kind. To reach out with a smile. To never assume you know what someone’s life is like.
If the only thing we lived by was kindness, this world would be a better place. It wouldn’t solve everything. It wouldn’t magically erase mental illness. But it would go a long way toward making the world a gentler place to live in.
Happy Friday.
