Sasee Magazine - March 2022

March 2022

“Friends are the gardeners of our souls”

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“Best Buds”

March 2022 Contents Volume 21, Issue 3

About the Cover Artist: Heatherlee Chan’s paintings tell stories centered upon whimsy, romance, and nature. Painting images of bookloving girls and friendship are especially close to her heart. Entirely self-taught, Heatherlee’s watercolor art now decorates products across the marketplace including tabletop, kitchen textiles, stationery, wall art, fabric, and greeting cards. She lives in Southern California with her husband and three children.

Website: www.heatherleechan.com Instagram: @heatherleechan

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8

Blossoms for Books

by Sarah Elaine Hawkinson

10

Thrill of the Hunt

12

From Crop Failure to a Harvest of Friendship

by Deborah Clark Vance

14

Sasee Gets Personal with Sharon Turner: Creative Landscapes

16

Nicole Saenz: Best Buds Creating Community Love

by Sarah Elaine Hawkinson

20

Terri Springs: Life is a Garden, Grow with it

by Sarah Elaine Hawkinson

24

The Campout

by Karen Curran

28

Learning to Say a Good Goodbye to Winter

by Janine C. Throssel

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from the Editor I hope all of my wonderful grandmothers are proud that my green thumb has grown since this time last year. I moved into a new place with bright lighting and immaculate energy. I am now the mother of twenty-two house plants, some outdoor flowers, and I even added a small herb garden on the porch with sage, mint, basil, rosemary, and thyme. Just as I have grown my horticulture friendships, I am also always growing my human ones too.

When I think about my best buds, there is a surplus (but I am not complaining). I am incredibly blessed with all of my highquality, dynamic friendships that were created in such diverse ways.

I have friendships that have lasted over two decades that began in preschool and although we are so different now, we still make time for each other and we know that our companionship will never fade.

I have friends that came along during the awkward teenage stages in middle and high school and we still appreciate the eccentric flowers we have bloomed into today. I have a multitude of friends from college that have helped me through my hardest times and were always there to remind me to celebrate our most exciting times. As a young adult, I have formed bonds with so many in the most down-to-earth, authentic scenarios as we continue to forge our way through this confusing, yet exhilarating period of our lives. I have also made life-long friendships with numerous beautiful souls that I have met at festivals who are from all over the country, but equally share my passion for music and community. I consider my friends and my plants family as we constantly support one another even though we are all unique in our own ways.

I believe that being the absolute best bud means that you are compassionate, honest, trustworthy, and always ready to listen (regardless of if you are supposed to offer advice). Sometimes you just need to be supportive and make sure that your friends understand that no matter what, they are not alone. I am a firm believer that it is essential to provide one another with proper water and light - that we truly need the best of buds surrounding us to fully bloom.

Publisher Delores Blount Sales & Marketing Director Susan Bryant Editor Sarah Elaine Hawkinson Account Executives Erica Schneider Gay Stackhouse Art Director Patrick Sullivan Contributing Photographer Chasing the Light Photography Web Developer Scott Konradt Accounting Gail Knowles Executive Publishers Jim Creel Bill Hennecy Suzette Rogers PO Box 1389, Murrells Inlet, SC 29576 fax 843-626-6452 • phone 843-626-8911 www.sasee.com • info@sasee.com Sasee is published monthly and distributed free along the Grand Strand. Submissions of articles and art are welcome. Visit our website for details on submission.

Sasee is a Strand Media Group, Inc. publication.

Copyright © 2022. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any material, in part or in whole, prepared by Strand Media Group, Inc. and appearing within this publication is strictly prohibited. Title “Sasee” is registered with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office.

6 :: Sasee.com :: March 2022

Blossoms for Books

by Sarah Elaine Hawkinson

In 2021, The Friends of the Waccamaw Library (FOWL) hosted their first-ever Blossoms for Books Garden Tour. This fundraiser was created as a safe and Covid-friendly way to raise money that specifically benefits the Waccamaw Library, as many of FOWL’s funding events were canceled due to the pandemic. As a lifetime gardener and vice-president of FOWL’s board, Deborah (Dee) Phillips suggested a garden tour idea and then became the co-chair of the committee along with Debbie Edgar. Nine months and seventy volunteers later, they shared a beautiful, tranquil day with a sold-out crowd.

FOWL is a non-profit organization founded in 1988, whose mission is to increase awareness of the Waccamaw Neck Branch Library and to provide funding for books, technology, and adult and children’s programming. Last year, they used the proceeds raised to add over 1000 books and DVDs to the library. The funds also supported 100 adult programs and 153 youth programs. Their Summer Reading Program also had its largest participation to date. Luckily, their Friends Center at the library is now back open and due to the success of last year’s Garden Tour, FOWL has decided to host the Blossoms for Books fundraiser again this year.

On the day of the event, all of the patrons meet at the library in the morning to pick up their wristbands and booklets that lists each garden on the tour along with a one-page description about each stop. While at the library, a few popup shops are offered such as a gift shop, a book shop, and a plant shop. The plants for sale are donated by Anita Lampley from her personal garden that she has propagated herself over the last year. Afterward, all of the patrons are welcome to proceed on their way making their own timeline for their tour as long as they do so from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Carpooling is encouraged to minimize traffic and as an incentive, there will be a very nice raffle prize given to one of the lucky winners who carpool with three or more people.

Last year, the tour included eight gardens: Anita and Randy Lampley’s Cottage Garden, Peter and Randi Lipkin’s Garden, Karen Glendinning and Sam Mersimi’s Eclectic Garden, Sharon and Joey Turner’s Beach Cottage, The BrockingtonShehan family’s Blue Whale Farm, Tanya Ackerman’s Friendship Garden at Gray Man’s Cottage, Bill and Karen Kahn’s Rookery, and John and Jean Cross’ Garden. As far as this year, Dee said, “We will still have eight gardens again, but we thought it would be fun to feature new homes. The only one that will return this year is the Blue Whale Farm because the large property provides the opportunity to purchase lunch as well as plenty of space to enjoy your meal outside at the picnic tables.” The garden search committee is always looking for new garden suggestions for future tours, and FOWL is always open to new members who would like to join and volunteer their time towards a great cause.

2022’s Blossoms for Books Garden Tour will be held on May 21st with a rain date of May 22nd. The tickets go on sale the first week of April and only 250 total tickets will be sold for the event. Purchase your tickets before they are sold out again by visiting the Friends Center inside the Waccamaw Library or by visiting www.thefowl.org.

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From Crop Failure to a Harvest of Friendship

by Deborah Clark Vance

When we lived in a house with its own yard, I reigned. But when we downsized to a condo townhouse, I only ruled a patio and had access to the homeowners association’s modest garden plot that had lain fallow for years under layers of nearly indestructible hardwood chips.

Since no one else was interested, the entire garden space became mine. I raked out eight bushels of those chips and shoveled in bushels of composted manure, creating a soil that any vegetable would be pleased to sink its roots into.

Because the soil rescue work had been so taxing, I planted easy-to-grow lettuce, basil, beans, arugula, zinnias, and marigolds. Although deer and rabbits threatened my little plot, come fall I did a victory lap around it. After putting it to bed, I spent winter enjoying next year’s garden, planted in my mind.

Then Cheryl moved in next door. Having heard that she should consult me about the garden space, she introduced herself. Over tea, I learned that divorce had delivered her here. I sympathized with her having to relinquish a huge house on several acres with its big cutting garden and hoped to swap gardening techniques.

“How long have you been gardening?” I asked.

“Are you kidding? I hired people for that!” I was getting the picture: Tennis, horseback riding, Cartier watch.

“So, what did your hired hands create?”

“Nicely shaped boxwoods –I hate when they’re uneven!

Rows of lavender. Snapdragons. Nothing red – I hate red flowers!”

Well, I said, she shouldn’t have trouble with this little space, and I’d help whenever. And, mentally adjusting my vision, I said to go ahead and use the sunny northeast quadrant. Cheryl settled into her single life, cobbling together an income stream from selling specialty foods to small markets. And because she loved inventing simple, elegant meals and cooking for friends, she wanted to teach 12 :: Sasee.com :: March 2022

people how to plan easy fancy dinner parties.

When our different schedules allowed, we’d walk to the shopping district. Passing by a row of white-blossomed Bradford pears, Cheryl said, “So pretty! What are they?”

“You mean,” I teased, “those invasive trees that smell like dead fish? I can’t believe you like them but hate red flowers!”

Occasionally I’d offer to help her start her garden instead of taking our walk, but she usually produced reasons not to. Still, she assured me she knew what to do and not to worry about her, so I didn’t. Until I did.

In Spring, I left tools on my patio for her, stressing that she mustn’t ever dig in wet soil. One day, she reported that after it rained, she’d worked her plot. I heaved a deep sigh.

But after a lifetime of teaching my children to restrain themselves before destructively plowing ahead, I’d learned to detach from thinking I could control anyone besides myself.

The next day I saw the fruits of her labor. Digging in wet soil compacts it, keeping air and water from penetrating, and because southwest Ohio soil is clay loam, it practically turns to concrete when it dries. Sure enough, big hard clay balls lay throughout her plot. Cheryl had blithely scattered radish, bean, corn, and cosmos seeds helter-skelter onto the lumpy surface, then left town for one of the many business trips she’d take during the growing season. As she prepared to go out of town, she thoughtfully gifted me the fresh produce from her fridge and her store-bought flower bouquets.

It was still early enough not to throw in the trowel, so I added her quadrant to my list of garden tasks. I lamented about all my work resurrecting this space, only now to be picking up hardened clay balls and breaking them or tossing them into the compost. It was clear Cheryl loved the idea of gardening but not the actual work. I, on the contrary, am used to the heartache that gardening entails – dashed hopes, tattered dreams, results that never matched the bountiful harvests I’d imagined. I reaped her

puny misshapen radishes for her, predicting she wouldn’t eat them. But at least she’d learned to contribute them to the compost.

During spring, I shared my different lettuce varieties with her. In September, she used the green beans and tomatoes I gave her and cooked me a simple, delicious dish she’d learned from a local chef – sauteing the onion in olive oil, stirring in the beans, tomatoes, thyme, and salt, and simmering until the beans were soft.

Had we not been neighbors, I doubt Cheryl’s and my paths would have crossed. She spends evenings in bars, obsesses over appearances, name-drops, and says she knows she’s a snob – none of which describe me. But no matter how much we disagree, I admire her enthusiasm, sense of humor, and complete honesty.

Determined for the gardening bug to bite her and helping to ground her a little, I gave her some cherry tomato plants plus divisions of my oregano and thyme plants to grow in the space outside her front door. Days later when bringing me an armful of fragrant lilies, she said, “You’ll be proud of me!” and showed me how she’d planted my offerings.

“Please water them while I’m away.”

In October, I taught her how to collect seeds from flowering annuals which she continues to do with magenta spider flowers and pink cosmos. She lets her cherry tomatoes reseed themselves each year. And she doesn’t need to remove her expensive jewelry to do this.

Now, she’s rented out her unit next door and bought another condo out-of-state where she teaches clients to host easy fancy dinners. We share text messages, phone calls, and photos and when she’s in town, we enjoy a Sunday brunch listening to live jazz at our favorite café.

I freeze beans from my garden to use during winter to make her dish. And, just as I taught her, she continues to harvest flower seeds to sprinkle wherever she travels.

Deborah Clark Vance retired from academia to revisit her writing career. She authored “Sylvie Denied,” a semi-autobiographical novel that explores finding one’s true self during turbulent times. www.deborahclarkvance.com

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Sasee.com :: March 2022 :: 13

Gets Personal with

Sharon Turner: Creative Landscapes As a Georgetown native and Clemson University graduate with a Horticulture and Landscape Design degree, Sharon became the owner of Creative Landscapes in 1979. Although her business offers outdoor space designs and installations, she loves to garden at home during her personal time. She has a vegetable garden as well as a collection of orchids, succulents, and begonias. She loves to create floral arrangements from her garden and also loves to grow new plants from seeds, cuttings, and divisions.

Horticulture is a passion Sharon shares with some of her best buds. “We share plants and talk plants a great deal of the time. Often after I have helped someone with their garden, we become closer and more likely to share with each other, plants as well as stories, advice, experiences, triumphs, and sorrows.” She believes that the most important qualities of a best friend are to be trustworthy, a great listener, and empathetic to what you learn about one another. Sharon and her best friend have been known to divide overgrown plants located in public spaces by helping themselves to a little division, snip, or seed. They never injure the parent plant and it’s usually a very covert operation.

She shares this idea with many of her plantloving customers and one commented that “the plant that grows the best is the one stolen.”

Sharon’s children are also interested in gardening. Her son has one of those “pull the car over so I can see that” flower beds in his front 14 :: Sasee.com :: March 2022

yard and her daughter, who is in a new home, is planning for a large vegetable garden and is going to can her own produce. Additionally, Sharon has had many employees (that like to call her momma) that she loves like her own.

She exclaimed, “I am so thankful to have been able to watch all of my children blossom into their new directions of life!”

Green thumbs certainly do run in her family. Her father’s father grafted fruit trees and her mother was raised on a farm where she grew a huge vegetable garden. She always had cut flowers from her yard displayed in the house as Sharon does, “from garden to table” so to speak.

When I asked her if she talks to her plants, she laughed and replied: “Well, sometimes I do threaten some of them with going into the compost bin.” As far as some advice, she suggests saving your coffee grounds to apply as mulch to your favorite acid-loving plants: Gardenia, Camellia, Azalea, Hydrangea, and Holly. She explained how important it is to know the watering requirements as they vary greatly depending on the plant. She also believes that plants are like people too, “in the sense that plants are very responsive to attention: some need a great deal and others prefer to be left alone. Like people, plants can sometimes frustrate and disappoint, but they can also bring you great joy and help boost your confidence.” Although Sharon was not a gardener as a child, she has certainly bloomed into one.

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Nicole Saenz: Best Buds Creating Community Love

by Sarah Elaine Hawkinson

Taking care of her house plants was Nicole’s favorite way of relaxing between a long day of working a stressful 9-5 job and family time in the evening. Once she lost her healthcare position, due to the pandemic, she started selling plants, making arrangements, and working pop-up markets.

Becoming unemployed fortunately gave her the opportunity to finally go after her dream. On her journey to beat the downfall of the pandemic, Nicole made her way to the Grand Strand in 2020. “I noticed that while there were many amazing outdoor and landscape options here, there was a lack of locallyowned indoor plant shops,” Nicole continued, “My passion for plants and people helped me realize that I wanted to bring the joy of indoor plant life to the Grand Strand.”

Rock n’ Roots Plant Co. opened in May of 2021 in Pawleys Island.

Her shop name was chosen because although she primarily sells plants (the roots), she also sells crystals (the rocks). Crystals provide healing benefits for people as well as plants, but they are also a beautiful decoration to pair with any planter. Nicole added: “plus, it was a fun play on words for ‘rock n’ roll’ because it’s catchy, and who doesn’t love some good rock n roll music?”

The shop offers classes on how to make your own glass terrariums, wooden planter boxes, holiday wreaths, and other seasonal projects. In addition, the classes provide a great educational portion, so the customers can continue to take proper care of their unique creations. Rock n’ Roots also offers many events at other venues they collaborate with such as local breweries, yoga studios, and wedding venues.

Who better to run a business with than your best bud?

Nicole’s husband, Andrew, is her best friend and partner at home with their children as well as at the shop. She runs 16 :: Sasee.com :: March 2022

the front of the house as she teaches the classes and creates the designs, while he does the heavy lifting by keeping up with inventory and mixing their house soil. Andrew is Nicole’s biggest supporter and they equally loved the vision they planned for the shop. Nicole explained that the most important quality of being a best friend is “truly believing in one another and supporting their dreams. Just as plants need support, people do too.”

When comparing people and plants, Nicole explained that certain varieties remind her of different types of humans.

For example, she described succulents as rebellious teenagers going through a phase where you kind of have to give them space and not care for them too much. If you let them do their own thing, they thrive.

She also mentioned plants that act like divas and need to be checked on all the time. If not, they will wilt and pout and be all dramatic without constant care, like a toddler throwing a tantrum in need of attention.

When I asked her if she talks to her plants, she replied, “Yes, especially when they are being divas. There is definitely scientific evidence that validates that speaking or singing to your plants helps their growth.

I visited the Amish Country in Pennsylvania, where there are lots of greenhouses, and when you walk in, all of the ladies are constantly singing. I always play music and positive affirmations in the shop for the plants and the guests.”

Nicole shared a funny mishap story about a time she was alone in the shop. She was trimming leaves and checking water levels when she came across one of her thick plants that has a lot of foliage. When she lifted the leaves, she saw two beady-black eyes looking back at her. She let go of the

leaves, screamed, and jumped back. She was not sure if it was a snake or something dangerous, so she used a broom to lift the leaves really high to see what exactly it was. She laughed, “It was just a giant toad! It took me about thirty minutes to coach the toad out of the plant. I am so glad no one walked in at the time because I was chasing this toad all around the shop, but I eventually got him safely outside.”

As a horticulture guru, I asked Nicole if she had any good tips for others trying to create their own indoor jungle. The main suggestion she had was to make sure you have the right soil.

For example, Rock n’ Roots sells a special soil that Andrew makes in their shop. He starts by using premium blended soil from a reputable brand, Fox Farm, which is a potting mix with organic materials from mother earth that is composted into plant food. Then, he adds amendments like bark, moss, sand, and perlite to create a nice, well-draining mix specific for house plants. They sell the soil separately and teach you how to mix it yourself, but they also sell it premixed and ready for you to take straight home to use for your plants.

“Raising plants is a lot like parenting,” Nicole continued, “Everyone has a different household and a different way of caring for their plants. You have to go through the motions a few times until you figure out what works best for you.”

Just as Nicole’s mom taught her about growing and caring for plants, she is constantly passing these teachings onto her children. She explained, “The most important seeds I have planted in hopes they may someday bloom are my children.

I believe that some of the most significant concepts you can teach our youth are how important hard work is, how influential compassion can be, and how fulfilling mother nature can make your overall life. We have to get back to our roots, so we are teaching our kids how to care for plants, how to grow food, and how to be respectful of nature as well as people.”

In 2022, Nicole is hoping that we as a collective can all get along better, and she is very hopeful that her shop can help.

Rock n’ Roots provides community and the opportunity for people to relax, forget about the rest, and just live presently in the moment. Participating in Nicole’s classes is the perfect way to spend quality time not only with nature, but also with good friends, new friends, and simply building comradery.

Be sure to check out their new store location and follow them on social media to keep up with all of their inspirational events.

New location: 10744 ocean Hwy., Unit A-B, Pawleys Island www.rocknrootsplantco.com rocknrootsplantco Rock n’ Roots Plants Co. Sasee.com :: March 2022 :: 17

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Terri Springs: Life is a Garden, Grow with it

by Sarah Elaine Hawkinson

As a child, Terri learned about symmetry, color, and texture from her father. She explained, “He had a mindset for designing beautiful things; he was an artist in many ways.” She was the one outside with him creating and keeping up with the yard. She always dreamed of having a garden as beautiful as the one she had as a child in Columbia.

After she moved to the Grand Strand as a teenager and graduated from Myrtle Beach High School, she had a fabulous ride of long-term passionate careers which took her to many locations.

She officially moved back to the beach in 1991 and has been here ever since.

Because of her split time between Columbia and the beach, she knew many folks, one of them being Mr. John Rhodes, who later served as the Mayor of Myrtle Beach for twelve years. When Terri and her mother would eat at the Dunes Club, she would see John teeing off for golf and they would always say hello in passing. It was not until the grand opening of the Myrtle Beach Convention Center that John had a full conversation with Terri. He was the Chairman of the Expansion Committee, and she was covering the opening for the 97.7 radio station. That was the moment John realized Terri had returned to the Grand Strand for good, and that day was the beginning of his pursuit for her.

Terri laughed, “He kept showing up ‘accidentally’ on purpose.

After a few months of a lovely courtship, I finally let him take me out and after that first date, that was it. We had so much in common, he made me laugh, and he was truly a joy to be around. We would stay up like we were in high school for hours talking on the phone. He was just infectious!”

After sixteen years of dating, eleven years of marriage, and retiring from another extraordinary career, Terri finally decided to cultivate the garden she always dreamt about.

Sonny Parish, a co-owner of Coastal Landscape Group, came to her rescue. Sonny helped Terri create her garden and took her to his wholesaler to pick out all of the plants she wanted 20 :: Sasee.com :: March 2022

to incorporate. He questioned the amount and asked her where in the world she was going to put them all.

Once she explained her vision to him, he was highly impressed. She showed Sonny that “just as you have rooms in your house, you should have rooms outside of your house - a garden is just an extension of your home.”

Sonny would bring clients over to view Terri’s yard because it was like walking through a nursery. One customer asked if Terri could come over to see their yard as well and give them recommendations. Once Sonny listened to her advise them on how to layer and transform their yard, he finally asked, “Terri, why don’t you come work for me and design gardens for my company?” She was ecstatic and John was too, maybe even more than her. John would tell everyone: “My wife is 65, a Medicare cardholder, and just found another career she loves.” He thought it was wonderful that at this later stage in life, Terri had yet again found a new path doing something she loved.

Terri’s garden became a laboratory. For her, a garden is never complete – it is a fun, ever-changing experiment, like life.

Terri explained, “Don’t ever think that putting something in the wrong place is the end, because there is always a shovel and always another plant. Gardens are always evolving, just like my recipes… I like to cook as much as I like to garden. I love to share food and plants with friends, neighbors, and those not feeling well. I think it’s important to share, and even when you don’t think you have anything to share, just sharing a smile with someone may be all they need that day.” Terri loves to share her ideas with her clients that end with them saying, “Wow! We had a yard, but now we have a garden.”

As far as some tips for producing a phenomenal garden, Terri most definitely has unique taste, style, and ideas. She believes that putting fragrant flowers near the doorways of a home is delightful because you always get a sweet whiff as you are coming and going. She uses several pots to add

texture and another dimension that can either be a focal point or elevate a certain plant. She enjoys using Sunshine Ligustrum and other pops of color as well as using white because of how the garden glows under a bright, full moon.

She is dynamic when it comes to her client’s gardens depending on if they want a formal or Charleston garden, but her personal favorite is a low country garden which she describes as a combination of southern plants such as Azaleas and Camellias and tropical plants such as varying types of palms. She also believes that plants are people too: “It’s a living thing. They have faces which means they have a front and need to be facing a certain direction when planted.

They have life, personality, and need the right environment.

They need to be nurtured just as humans do.”

John was by far the best nurturer for Terri – He was truly her best bud and biggest cheerleader. John would show everyone her yard (and that was what he always called it, “her” yard.) The city of Myrtle Beach gives an award for the best garden in town every year and because of how unbelievably proud he was, John made sure that the next time they were judging, they came by to look at her garden as well. In 2020, their home address was listed as the winner of the Most Outstanding Residential Landscape Design and Tree Preservation. The award winner receives a plaque that traditionally reads the Mr. and Mrs. names followed by the address. The plaque took a year to arrive but when it did, John had already passed in 2021. They informed her that John had previously called and asked if the plaque awarded to Terri could list her name first because it was HER yard.

They obliged and receiving that plaque after John passed was the sweetest last gift she could have received from him.

“He always supported me, the same way I supported him with his passions. John was always the one behind me saying ‘go for it.’ In fact, he encouraged everyone around him to always ‘go for it.’ He was a visionary, and what he did for the City of Myrtle Beach is a good example of that,” Terri Continued, “One of the most monumental visions John brought to life was Savannah’s Playground, a safe place that creates social interaction for children with all abilities through enabling playgrounds and programs designed to meet their special needs. This playground is in honor of Savannah Thompson, a young lady we watched grow up who is a pillar for the community. Out of love comes a lot of good things. I think by supporting each other, the seeds just dropped. I love that I can drive around and see John in so many different beautiful places in this community.”

John was Terri’s favorite garden, and their shared love will continue to nurture her. After John got his wings, people would say to Terri, “I am so sorry for you” and she would reply, “There is nothing to be sorry about because John gave me everything - He was my epic love, my hallmark movie, and I just wish for every person that they have a love that deep, that secure, a true best friend.” John only requested two plants in the garden, Cordyline and red roses, so she keeps those blooming for him just as she continues to bloom brilliantly into another new phase of life.

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The Campout

by Karen Curran

As friendships go, Alta, Cindi, Kim, and I made a good foursome. Alta and I were best friends and Cindi and Kim were best friends, all in seventh grade. We hung out at school, sat together at church, and went to football games together. We were very much like the four musketeers, minus capes, hats, and swords. Cindi and I were tall, Alta and Kim, a bit shorter. Cindi and Kim had black hair, while Alta and I were on the fair side with light brown. We dressed in typical fashion for mid-sixties junior high girls, wearing skirts and blouses to school each day. We were nice, the kind of student teachers could depend on to behave in class. Even so, we had our moments.

When Rhonda whispered to the girls seated close to her that she had made the cookies with chocolate Ex-Lax, the message quickly spread and all the girls erupted in laughter while Miss Miller stood at the front of the room, clueless.

In the spring of that year, Cindi decided to have a sleepover at her house. The four of us were going to camp in her backyard in a tent. Unsupervised. We couldn’t have been more excited.

“What brand tampons are you using?” Cindi asked.

“Stop in the name of love!” We sang along with the radio as we danced in the grass, then ate chocolate and cookies and enjoyed frozen bottles of Coke that overflowed when we opened them.

As daylight faded, we settled into the tent for girl talk, important issues that affected us all. Which of the Mikes in our class was the cutest? Did Gary really like Vicky? Would Miss Miller return to Martin Junior High next year or had the rowdy boys in our science class scared her off?

We relived the day Rhonda brought her infamous cookies to class.

“I made these cookies just for the boys,” Rhonda announced, “because they’ve been nice to us lately.” Then she immediately whispered a warning to the girl-side of the classroom: “Don’t eat the cookies!”

“How nice of you, Rhonda!” said Miss Miller, obviously pleased to see her students getting along.

Within thirty minutes Mike P. was rushing to the door.

“Where are you going, Mike?” Miss Miller asked.

“I need to get to the bathroom,” he said as he ran into the hallway. Before long, Miss Miller had to discontinue her lesson because all of the boys had followed Mike.

24 :: Sasee.com :: March 2022

Alta, Cindi, Kim, and I lay in the tent remembering that day, and laughed until our sides hurt. I was particularly uncomfortable because the Tylenol I had taken to relieve menstrual cramps had worn off.

“I started my first period two days ago,” I finally said as I held my stomach and groaned.

“None. I tried, but couldn’t get one in.”

“Ewwwww!” they all said at the same time. “Pads?” somebody asked. I nodded and while I was feeling a bit leprous from the horrified looks on their faces, my friends hustled me into the house. It seems they felt a responsibility to tutor me in the feminine arts.

In the bathroom, with my friends just outside the closed door, I opened the Pursette, a small, insert-with-your-finger tampon that Cindi assured me was the easiest type to use.

I tried, but with no success, and thus began the coaching/ cheerleading session. Cindi, Alta, and Kim each espoused their idea of how to reach this milestone, from lying on the floor or squatting, to holding a mirror between my knees.

One of them even offered to put it in for me. C’mon, really?

After an hour in the bathroom, or possibly only fifteen minutes, and amidst much pain, tears, and blood, I finally got the thing in. Our seventh-grade rite of passage. My friends cheered my success, surely making Cindi’s parents wonder what was going on. We returned to the tent where I lay quietly while my friends talked and giggled in hushed tones. I was hurting and simply wanted to be quiet and rest.

We finally fell asleep. At least, it seemed we all did.

Morning rolled around and we began getting dressed.

“Where’s my bra?” Alta asked as she searched through the blankets. Now, this bra was her only one. Because Alta was flat-chested, her mom didn’t allow her to wear a support garment. The embarrassment in the locker room at school had become unbearable so I bought her a training bra, which she washed out every night away from the watchful eyes of her mother. Now, it was missing.

“I’ll be right back,” Cindi said, and ran to the house. A minute later she called us inside and led the way to the freezer where inside, frozen solid, was Alta’s bra.

During the night, someone (Cindi never confessed) had slipped out of the tent with the bra, soaked it in water, and stashed it with the ice trays. Cindi held it up by one cold, hard strap.

“How am I supposed to wear that?” asked Alta, a frown on her face.

Sneaking the bra back into her house would be a lot harder when she couldn’t hide it beneath her clothes.

I joined in the laughter at seeing a frozen bra, but my smile faded when I saw how irritated Alta was. This was definitely not a happy ending to our overnight stay.

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While we ate pancakes, the bra bounced around in the dryer. We packed our things, then waited. And waited. Even something as small as a training bra dries surprisingly slow when frozen.

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Alta finally made it home that morning, fully clad, with a warm and cozy chest, so the adventure didn’t end in disaster after all. I don’t recall, though, ever going to another campout at Cindi’s house.

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Karen Curran, a retired accountant, delights in making people smile. Her stories can be found in Potato Soup Journal, Horse Illustrated Magazine, two Stories of Life anthologies, www.deadmule.com, and www.oldkaren.com.

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Learning to Say a Good Goodbye to Winter

by Janine C. Throssel

Depending on which poll you heed, Spring could be America’s favorite season. After all, it’s easy to love Spring. Spring feels hopeful and inspiring. Songbirds begin to break the long silence of winter. Early crocuses push up through the snow that has kept us trapped indoors. After months of bleakness, banks of daffodils and tulips erupt in riots of color and the scent of hyacinths rises from unremembered places where they were planted the year before. I love watching pink and white petals twirl from the tops of once-bare fruit and nut trees, now ruffling in the wind like a lady’s skirt. If I had to choose a favorite season, it might be Spring.

Then again, it might be Autumn, the remarkable season that shows us our world has a whole other color palette. Green gives way to scarlet, marigold, magenta, and chestnut.

Animals run through the forest, gathering food. Leaves drift to the ground in an annual, graceful dance. Apples grow red and crisp, pumpkins grow fat, and the air grows brisk, brimming with life and possibilities.

Oh, but there’s summer, too . . . with its aroma of sunscreen by day and jasmine by night, its glimmer of magical firefly light and armloads of fragrant roses from the garden. . .

I’m glad I don’t have to choose.

The season that never seems to make the top three, though, despite its hold on Christmas, is Winter. Winter means storms and canceled trips. Sodden gloves and muddy boots.

Empty branches and weather that greets you at your front door just to shove you back inside. It’s easy to understand why people grow depressed and frustrated by winter. I have, too.

However, something has changed me in recent years, causing me to welcome the unwelcomed, to greet winter’s arrival with almost the same affection I hold for the other three seasons. That is due, in part, to one little plant.

I love to garden but have a small backyard, half of which is paved over with a concrete patio. Undaunted, I have packed nearly every available inch of dirt with vegetables, berries, roses, daisies, alyssum, lilies, grassy patches, and bright flowers to draw pollinators. Each year, with my head full of plans and dreams, I shuffle and rearrange. I tear out 28 :: Sasee.com :: March 2022

non-performers to move or replace them. I water and weed and then sit among the beauty of divine handiwork and the fruit of my labors. Yet, one valuable corner of my tiny yard remained drab and dark. No matter what I tried to grow in that spot where two fences meet, nothing grew but grass and weeds. No spring bulbs. No summer roses. No fall leaves. I felt condemned to live with just that scrubby bit of boring, uneven dirt and greens.

Winter, of course, isn’t typically the time to grow things.

So, my expectations for the gloomy corner during those months were even lower. Winter is harsh and demanding, cold and unforgiving. What could possibly grow in winter but greenery?

Then, I planted one little plant–a pink hellebore–and it grew, right there in the dark. It blossomed, right there in the cold.

It thrived, right there in the corner. In fact, it grows fuller and more abundant each year.

The plant–known as a Winter, Christmas, or Lenten Rose– has a structure that looks and feels almost artificial. The leaves are as thick and stiff as plastic. The papery pink petals have flat backs and green centers. Yet they are stunning in their uniqueness. The delicate flowers stand on tall slender stems for weeks in vases of water, reminding me that beauty exists even in dark, hard places.

For that is the truth of it, isn’t it? That is why I’ve come to love winter in my garden. That is why I wait for it, even anticipate it with joy. Hellebores. Cyclamen. Winter plants show that light and wonder can arise to greet each and every day, even the cold ones. Green leaves can bring oxygen, filling shade and darkness with breath and hope.

It’s a reminder that we can, too.

In seasons of division, fear, angst, and darkness of spirit, we, too, can open our petals to the sun. We, too, can breathe deep, exhaling life to those around us. We, too, can bring loveliness in chilly, bleak times. We can rise tall and speak of better things.

This winter, during a trip to visit family, one of my adult sons stopped me a moment to gaze at another feature almost

The sof test toys you have ever hugged, cuddled and adored. exclusively contained by winter. Snow.

What in nature is more exquisite than a snowflake?

He pointed out a common tire track and asked, “Isn’t this a cool pattern?”

The indentations of the tire had been transformed into neat geometric zigzags of bright red clay within defined ridges of gleaming white powder and ice. It was beyond cool.

It made us marvel. We went to work making a snowman in the yard, two adults playing in the snow like children.

I couldn’t remember the last time I had played in the snow.

The world looks different on a clear winter day. Common things stand out as special. The light and shadows show up in contrast. Drips fall from rooftops to make icicles like glass and form cold puddles beneath. Then, those little drips arise into vapor in the sunlight: Solid to liquid to gas. A mighty, tiny miracle.

Don’t get me wrong. I still love Spring.

Spring is still a strong contender for first place in my heart. After all the aches of January and February, my heart opens as the flowers do. Yet, this year, as I bid farewell to another winter, I am grateful and even expectant for the next one. A strong little plant and some tire tracks helped show me the way.

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www.shinecafeconway.com Sasee.com :: March 2022 :: 29

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