Day 9--A Photo I Took (After Our Loss)

This was my first kid-made mothers' day gift. C took E to a big-box home improvement store one Saturday and there was a kids' workshop going on. Planting flowers for Mom. E picked this purple one all by himself, potted it with some help, and was so happy to give it to me.

And later in the spring, we had our backyard redone. Concrete ripped out, beds put in, tons more grass laid down for playing. We'd ben planning this project since the previous Fall, but now I wanted to leave a space for a "girl garden." A little space where I could plant all the pink flowers I could round up. We planted an apple tree there, too, knowing the blossoms would be pink. I know it's cliche to have pink for girls, but it was to be all the pink we'd have.

Anyway, we got these wispy pink petunias and planted them all in the front of the garden. I decided to plant E's purple flower to me right in the middle. Kind of symbolically having both my babies out there together.

Unfortunately, there were a lot of factors against this garden. A blazingly hot summer, my black thumb, a crazy dog who thought nothing of tearing through the garden during a game of fetch.  Those petunias didn't stand a chance, and it made me feel even more like a jackass. But, amazingly, E's little purple flower lasted the longest.