04/20/2025
To my family, friends and neighbors. This is Scott from Pagyn's Garden. I know that it has been some time since there has been a post, but please be patient, this may be long winded.
I sat this morning, outside, in the crisp, morning air watching the sun rise, thinking upon this last fall and winter. Thinking upon the loss and grief that has been felt in the past months by family and friends, myself included.
This past September very good friend and mentor, Dale Price Sr., passed. Dale was in his eighties and yet was still living his life as full as he could, working in his Automotive Repair Shop. In his final days, all he desired was to be in the Garage, working.
In December my niece, Amanda Henshaw (McKee) passed. Amanda was born with a heart defect that led the experts to believe she would live a few years at best. Yet, she defied them and lived into her mid-thirties. And Amanda certainly lived life.
Soon after Amanda's passing, my cousin Mike's wife Kim also passed. Many of you knew Kim, and if I'm being honest, her passing is the most shocking and painful for many. She was in her prime time of life, and yet nature can be cruel. Her passing was sudden and unexpected.
Loss and Grief make it difficult to see that while nature can be hard and cruel, there is still beauty, joy, and peace there as well. In my youth I served in the U.S. Marine Corps and traveled a bit of this world. I have seen both that beauty and cruelty.
But it is the memories of those that have passed that keeps them alive in this world. Both those good and bad. Regardless of your faith and belief, this is the time of rebirth in nature. It is a time to look back upon those sometimes-vicious cycles of nature and remember the loss and pain, but to also look to the coming days of light and beauty. And we have an obligation to those passed to not just remember them and hold those memories dearly, but to also continue on. There is certainty in the fact that that is what they would want for us to do, continue on.
So, to Mark, Dale Jr., Ellen, Tammy, Melissa, Karen (Mom), Mike, and every single other person impacted by such loss. The pain and grief will always be there, but remember that there is still life to live, if for nothing more than that is what our loved ones would want for us. Remember that in those dark moments there is still beauty, love, and joy in this world, no matter how hard it is to find.
To close, I wish for everyone to find as much peace, joy and happiness in this world as is possible. And I hope that through the darkness, we can all see some light and beauty. Thank you for your time and patience.