Michaela Wilcox has been with Spark since July 2022.

Seed Chaos

Instruction #1 of 30.

“Arborvitae foliage, flat sprayed defenses, root ball into the gaping wide. Soil around the ball, pour water into the hole to fill. Pack hard until your hands are bruised (remember, it’s okay if it hurts a little bit, darling, she said with a wide grin) water again, surface mulch, avoid the stem. This will be the quake of the wind brushing, the dawn greeter, the protector of your chaos. Lush & thick, you will never have to trim. Impervious to disease, all you need is a little bit of rain & they will endure. You don’t have to care for them – just seed the ground & let them grow wild. Make sure they see the sun (a little bit of partial shade is permitted) The key is to not know what you’re doing except follow instinct & these instructions – plant, nurture (but not too much) & let it all grow. No more scattering of seeds – you plant with intent.”

I closed the book & held it in my hands & brought it to my face & closed my eyes & it reminded me of her & I finally started missing.

It’s the first day of planting season. The first year she’s been gone that I’ve decided to grow a garden for her.

If I make her a home, do you think she’ll come back?

To donate directly to the fundraiser for Dottie, the daughter of Arley McNeney, click on the Donate button below.