- A SHORT STORY ABOUT VISITING VICKI'S GARDEN
Monica Lawson A zig-zaggedy, pine shrouded walk through the woods from my house to my daughter Vicki's garden showed me I was not alone amidst the trees. Down the path, past the garden swing, over the grassy knoll and a sharp right turn .... bear scat right in the middle of the sharp right turn. Are you sure it was bear scat? Not at first. The hand sized mound was hard - the bear had passed this way quite a while ago. If you're wondering how I surmised it was hard ... I poked it with a stick. How long since the bear made a potty stop here in my woods ... I wasn't certain. I followed my tracks at a quick pace back to my house and grabbed my camera. Snap .. snap at different angles. Raced back home to my computer to Google 'bear-scat-in-the-woods .' Sure enough, there it was ... all 25 different angled photos of bear poop matched my photo exactly - right down to the little round berries the furry woods dweller had for dinner in the not too distant past. I still walk the path to my daughter's garden to water the few flowers and cherry trees left in my care after her death last year. But now I bring my 80 pound black Lab Jack. As the saying goes .. I don't have to outrun the bear .. I just have to outrun Jack!
Monica Lawson P.S. I've written about my daughter's death in many different ways ... heartbroken, nostalgic, stoic, and humor. How could there be anything humorous to write about the death of a daughter? You would have to have known Vicki. She would have nudged me to humorously retell stories about her because she had the most vibrant sense of humor and laugh that you could feel from your toes up. Healing and peace come with acknowledging the life ... and passing of those we love. And I am healing in God's grace and knowledge of where she is.- Monica Lawson Vicki Rose Williams Garden Marker ..1957 - 2018 Over the meadow and through the woods to Vicki's garden I go.
