Sure, I’ll try it Dad. I know! If you don’t try it, how will you know if you like it?  Pigs’ feet? Are you sure about this? Hey! Not bad! Mayonnaise? Dip the artichoke in mayonnaise? OK, I’ll try it.

Dad, are you watching over me? Can you see me? Can you hear me when I pray for you?

What I would do for one more walk with you in your garden. Potatoes ready for digging? Where, Dad, where?! I see myself kneeling in the dirt, scooping up the little potatoes. Dad is watching me, smiling. “Had a pretty good harvest this year, Susie-Bell. I think I’ve dug up 20 potatoes! OK, let’s go check out those Hollyhocks. I think they’re the tallest they’ve ever been!”

I have at least 50 pictures of Dad in his beloved garden. All the same. There’s Dad in his funny jeans, covered with funny patches to cover up the holes, with his ancient sandals he got on a trip to Mexico. He is smiling from ear to ear. Showing off his current harvest; sometimes a giant Hollyhock reaching for the sun.