Another surgery meant another long period of recovery. This time I added a cedar arbor at the entrance to my patio complete with a matching cedar bench and two cedar adirondack chairs. It was fun, my daughter helped me put them together. We worked so late into the night we used her cell phone for light. Amazing! They were stable enough for us to sit in. We added a stone firepit in the middle and a large, 9 ft. umbrella. It looked beautiful! I surrounded the patio with Japanese Maples, Crepe Myrtles, Dwarf Junipers, boxwoods and Rose of Sharons-it was breathtaking.
I sat down to enjoy my accomplishment and again was on the way to the ER went the pain hitl The more pain I had the more depression I was feeling. A terrible cycle to get out of. I stopped talking to friends, dressing properly, talking to people, going to the store. Worst of all, I hid it from my close friends and my children.
I tried to hide it by being invisible. I would work slowly on another project. This time a natural stone path on the east side of the yard. I envisioned stepping stones with pea gravel all around, a rock ledge with a mix of formal and informal flowers and shrubs so that there was something growing all year long. Lastly, a winding landscape of evergreens, peonies, roses and lariope. A cedar trellis or two to create a beautiful display of Don Juan roses and more Altheas in different colors.
This took me another two months, and finally in October the yard was complete! The neighbors loved it. It brought people together to enjoy the outdoors, my daughter and friends roasted marshmellows on the firepit. And I, felt good. Until December 13, 2010-everything changed. One of the hardest days of my life.
