TL;DR don’t pick a single-use wedding outfit
Steven and I first ‘farmed’ together in the Carver Community Garden nearly a decade ago. Ms. Rose lives a few houses away, on the same block where she grew up. Ms. Rose was the only attendee to our wedding; she was our officiant, our witness, and our photographer. She married us two years ago at sunrise and we have grown immensely since she planted us together.
Plants teach us that growth happens slowly, so slow that we are surprised when we notice the progress. Wearing my wedding outfit now as we farm as a tangible reminder of the work it takes to keep things growing. Often too slow for a world driven by the myth of endless growth to notice. It’s a reminder to notice.
The plants also teach us how important it is to build each other up, and what happens when we only work to tear things down. Without roots the soil won’t stay put and the life in the soil will follow the water. Nature asks us to listen, and not bring our ego into it. So much can be learned from the mistakes of taking a scorched earth approach, like the ways it is mirrored in extractive relationships with each other and the planet.
We weathered Fiona this week, so this is our hurricane anniversary—I don’t make the rules. Take moment to do an internet search of the “Grito de Lares” for which we picked our wedding date. If we’d had a ‘first dance’ at our wedding it would have been to Rain Come Home by Rupa & the April Fishes. Now we’re gonna call Ms. Rose to say thank you.