About a month ago Jason asked what I wanted for my birthday, and I had no real material desires so I gave him zero ideas.
Fortunately, he has a great memory and a kind heart and remembered a few weeks earlier when I had mentioned, in passing, that I would love to be able to grow vegetables as I had always done growing up.
This wonderful man gifted me a GARDEN for my birthday! I was so struck with the genuine gesture. It meant so much to me that he would give me something so perfect. Not a gift card, or a shirt, or something silly... a garden!!
Now we tossed around ideas: a couple flower pots? a big whisky barrel? a 4 x 4 raised bed? No. No. No. In the end he decided that he didn't really like weed whacking around his back fence, and had always been meaning to give his tree better dirt, and that my little garden would fit perfectly in the corner of his yard. :) This meant a serious project.
That's what we decided last Saturday around 2:00pm.
Since then we've spent probably 18 hours in his yard digging, digging, hauling, digging, moving, digging, pouring dirt, raking, pouring dirt, raking and digging. It has been a lot of hard work and 6 trips to Lowe's and I have LOVED every second of it. It is so rewarding, working hard on something. Making something beautiful is worth the effort. We still don't have the plants in, that will happen this week... but everything else is done and I am obsessed with it. I am so proud. It will be so beautiful when it is completed, and even better when my garden plot starts to bear fruit!!!
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I've heard it said "four seasons and a road trip" in reference to things you should go through before deciding to marry someone. I think we should revise it: "four seasons, a road trip, and a project." I have learned so much about Jason in those 18 hours, and all of it made me fall more in love with the man. It was so nice spending our weekends working side-by-side, sometimes talking, sometimes in silence. I love his patience for me as I asked a million questions. I love his pride in me, in my hard work, my contribution. I love how hard he is willing to work for something that began as a sweet gift for me. I love his laid back attitude, even though it most often resulted in my being covered in dirt or squealing because of a little toad. Working on this project didn't change my feelings for him (though I suppose it could have, were he a different sort of man), it just made my heart fill with joy and love and confidence.
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