It\u2019s a brand new year! \u00a0The party is over. \u00a0It\u2019s time for the resolutions! \u00a0This year, I resolved to spend a little less time in the barn each day so I have a little more time to de-clutter my very disorganized home. \u00a0I decided on that because it\u2019s way better than, say, eating less chocolate!! \u00a0And a quick Google search gave me lists of reasons why a de-cluttered home will make my life better. \u00a0It turns out though that the most motivating reason is the one I found out for myself on the first day of the year — you \u00a0may very well find something precious that was lost and forgotten in all that clutter. \u00a0Under a stack of papers in a drawer of my office desk, I found a folded and wrinkled poem written to me by my husband during the first year of our life on the franch, only four years ago. \u00a0It was the second time I ever read it.<\/p>\n
The Garden<\/strong><\/p>\n We saw what could be a garden where there was a pile of soil.<\/em><\/p>\n We had big dreams for this garden, looking forward to the toil.<\/em><\/p>\n We talked of the green, fruit, and flowers,<\/em><\/p>\n Without any doubt the dream was within our power.<\/em><\/p>\n The task was daunting and grand,<\/em><\/p>\n But our desire was ready for any obstacle that might stand.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tools news and unused, just like our muck.<\/em><\/p>\n Put to the task, with prayer and hoping for some luck.<\/em><\/p>\n We began turning the dirt,<\/em><\/p>\n Muscles, emotions, feeling the burn and hurt.<\/em><\/p>\n We knew it was up to us to make the garden that we had dreamed.<\/em><\/p>\n No one would do it for us, fill the gap between our hopes and what it might seem.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The grasses and wildflowers came up at first,<\/em><\/p>\n With the energy of youth, believing in better, we didn\u2019t mind the curse.<\/em><\/p>\n Other bright flowers were planted and watered with love,<\/em><\/p>\n We searched for weeds and pulled them quickly from above.<\/em><\/p>\n The spring was beginning to warm with the sun,<\/em><\/p>\n The first years of our love had their share of fun.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n We had our first bloom and what a blessing was she.<\/em><\/p>\n The most beautiful flower that we imagined we would ever see.<\/em><\/p>\n A tree began to grow, signs of strength and comfort in his eyes,<\/em><\/p>\n Still so small, but protector and calm would be his bind that ties.<\/em><\/p>\n A precious rose arrived with a beautiful smile,<\/em><\/p>\n As they often do, taking some nurture and a different style.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The garden required attention, love, and care,<\/em><\/p>\n So many challenges, unforeseen, always needing to be aware.<\/em><\/p>\n The garden looked so perfect in those few moments of calm,<\/em><\/p>\n But so many times busying to prepare for the storm.<\/em><\/p>\n Precious and unique in every way,<\/em><\/p>\n Cultivating and careful with them, always the first and last thought of every day.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Our love is the nutrients before and even now,<\/em><\/p>\n We can work the ground, sweat, and plow,<\/em><\/p>\n But in the end, a plant needs fertile soil in which to reach full prospect,<\/em><\/p>\n Without our love as the fuel, nothing would be nor could achieve respect.<\/em><\/p>\n As we see our bounty, be reminded that our love has taken us here,<\/em><\/p>\n And the greatest of these will achieve this garden, as we hold each other near.<\/em><\/p>\n Have you ever found something so dear lost in clutter? \u00a0I’m looking forward to what else I may find going through our mess a little each day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u2019s a brand new year! \u00a0The party is over. \u00a0It\u2019s time for the resolutions! \u00a0This year, I resolved to spend a little less time in the barn each day so I have a little more time to de-clutter my very disorganized home. \u00a0I decided on that because it\u2019s way better than, say, eating less chocolate!! […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sfsi_plus_gutenberg_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_show_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_type":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_alignemt":"","sfsi_plus_gutenburg_max_per_row":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","post-preview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/franchlife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1275","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/franchlife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/franchlife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/franchlife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/franchlife.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1275"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/franchlife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1275\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1290,"href":"https:\/\/franchlife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1275\/revisions\/1290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/franchlife.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/franchlife.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/franchlife.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}