Saying Good-Bye to Serenity and Embracing Real Life

Dear Reader:

Life is a beautiful balancing act..when I return home to Summerville it is, on the whole, a leisurely life…working in the garden, planting new life which always thrills me, and as of a couple of days ago…lying in one of the lounge chairs in the afternoons on the deck… soaking in a little sun…such a treat after a chilly, cloudy, rainy winter!

Monday afternoon while washing clothes and re-packing to return to Mount Pleasant (to help out with the kids while John is gone this week)…I found myself strolling through the garden…peeking to see if a little green, new life was starting to sprout up under dead stems of plants from last year…amazing how many spots of green I found. (Maybe plants like St. Patrick’s Day too! 🙂

For the first time, in a long time…I wandered in the far back of the yard…close to the property line separating my back yard from another neighbor’s and it was there that I discovered Mother Nature had made all these shrubs, bushes, and trees start turning and blooming in overabundance…yet hardly anyone knew it existed…as to be able to actually see it to enjoy it…enclosed far back in the wooded area. Yet now…it was breath-taking.

I felt such a sense of serenity envelope me late Monday afternoon after discovering all these “hidden treasures.” There’s a part of me who could live ‘happily ever after’ exploring the terrain in the garden and back yard while ‘fiddling’ with new plants…but then I realize that this wouldn’t really be living life to the fullest.

Nope…in order to do that…you have to jump back in, get down and dirty playing with squealing grandchildren…seeing the world anew through their eyes. Life should not be lived in solitude but in the midst of lots of “craziness” that keeps us reminded that we belong to family, community, and the universe. It is our job to contribute back to it whatever talents God bestowed upon us.

So until tomorrow….”Don’t be afraid your life will end…be afraid it never did begin.”

“Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh

I am pleased to announce that there are more buds on “Big Red” the clone…than it has had since life re-started for it. It looks healthy and I think this spring will be its crowning glory!

About Becky Dingle

I was born a Tarheel but ended up a Sandlapper. My grandparents were cotton farmers in Laurens, South Carolina and it was in my grandmother’s house that my love of storytelling began beside an old Franklin stove. When I graduated from Laurens High School, I attended Erskine College (Due West of what?) and would later get my Masters Degree in Education/Social Studies from Charleston Southern. I am presently an adjunct professor/clinical supervisor at CSU and have also taught at the College of Charleston. For 28 years I taught Social Studies through storytelling. My philosophy matched Rudyard Kipling’s quote: “If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.” Today I still spread this message through workshops and presentations throughout the state. The secret of success in teaching social studies is always in the story. I want to keep learning and being surprised by life…it is the greatest teacher. Like Kermit said, “When you’re green you grow, when you’re ripe you rot.”

View all posts by Becky Dingle →

This entry was posted in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink.

1 Response to Saying Good-Bye to Serenity and Embracing Real Life

Rachel Edwards says:

March 11, 2020 at 10:40 am

Way to go Big Red…the pictures are gorgeous of the back of your yard…thought of the song “I come to the garden alone”…so pecaeful…have a great time with the grands..

Loading...