In December, my cousin emailed me. After asking about the details of my life, she shared hers. She wrapped up the note with news of her late fall garden. My Minnesota plantings were long gone, but hers in Kansas City, Missouri, still lived. The update concerning her vegetables made me smile, but it was her final sentence that lodged in my mind and sits there even today, four months later.
Here’s what she wrote:
My fall lettuce and spinach and cilantro is still alive, but a little meager. I harvest a bit of it every other day and cover it with a sheet every night so it survives. What do you protect?
The question stared at me—and still does.
What do I protect? I think of the mid-century modern lamps in my living room, once belonging to my maternal grandparents—and the more important things in life, like my reputation, my time, my loved ones.
But today, reader, I’m curious about you.
What do you protect?
Write a note about something you protect and send it to me HERE (or subscribers, simply hit reply to this email.) I will publish your writing (along with your first name, city, and state) in next week’s blog installment.
I look forward to your responses, reader. Until next week…
“People protect what they love.” Jacques Cousteau
*Names in this blog have been changed to protect my family and friends in the neighborhood, and in a nod of appreciation to the beloved Swedish author Maj Lindman, I’ve renamed my three blondies Flicka, Ricka, and Dicka.