Suzanne Schaffer

I've not spent a tremendous amount of time gardening. It's too messy for my liking. I prefer indoor work to yard work. I have given in to the idea of growing my own organic food and eating fresh from the garden but I also like the idea of driving to a local farmer's market and purchasing from someone else who has done the work. I'm not afraid to admit I don't enjoy working in the dirt, it messes with my fingernails. Buying local is much more attractive to me, and hey, my purchase helps support the local economy and we know that's very 2017. The time I have spent doing the dirty work has left me with some thoughts. Anyone who's spent time in a garden knows that a majority of the time is spent pulling weeds. Some have roots that grow deep and can't be pulled without the use of a spade or other gardening tool while others can be easily plucked from the earth. I've seen the same with trees in our yard. We moved into an overgrown plot of land and hav

I could feel their eyes on me and as they huddled together I knew the sheepish glances my way included conversation. I tried to fill my mind with other things and not the assumptions that were multiplying and emptying me of any self worth I'd woken up with.  I felt less than . Dawn spent time with some close friends and as they tucked themselves into their hotel room she turned the lock on her own door. Alone. Wanting to be part of a couple. Knowing she'd been forgiven of two failed marriages yet letting the loneliness creep into her heart again. "My flesh haunts me. I feel like I've worked through it but sometimes, because I'm not married, I feel less than ." Jennifer compares herself to other people and even to past versions of herself. The comparison game makes her feel less than .  Jess married a little later than society expects and felt out of sorts over it. Even now, married just a few years and enjoying time with her spouse without having