WE NEED TO REMEMBER — Sharon Mark Cohen

As the roofer was making his rounds checking our gutters and leaders and counting our broken slates to replace (ugh), I guided him over to look at the new tree we had planted the day before, a colorful redbud flame thrower. Then, we moved steps to the left so that I could show him the two azalea plants in our rock garden, along with some colorful annuals planted in front of them.

He laughed, questioning, “Some kind of memorial garden?” I shot back, “Yes! In memory of my mother. We had it built when she passed away.” Humbled, he declared, “That’s right…we need to remember, otherwise, who will remember us?”

Speaking of being humbled, I certainly was when later checking my emails and opening one from a dear friend who read and responded favorably to my weekly blog post the day after her beloved husband’s funeral. He was, as the roofer is, of Christian, not Jewish, Polish descent. I make that distinction of religion to emphasize there are good people in all faiths and ethnicities.

We need to remember the good and the bad. Let’s hope that just as I weed the rock garden, we can weed out the bad memories and remember the good.

As my newly widowed friend pointed out, while she and her family miss her husband, the time they had was wonderful. With beauty and kindness we can live lovingly, and work to weed out the bad players, and plant trees and flowers, not bombs and hatred.

Enjoy looking at pictures of our rock garden from two angles. The first picture in each shows the new plantings. The second one in each shows the majestic beauty as the plants thrive. My mother would approve.