I made it through the worst of allergy season! I’ve heard from people of all ages that they had a tough battle with pollen this spring. It seemed like everything had bloomed at once. Finally, I figured it would be safe to go outside if I made it through the lilac season.

Now that the intense pollen has abated somewhat, I’ve spent several hours daily in my flower and herb gardens. I completely missed enjoying my narcissus and late tulips blooming; however, before the robust pollen took over, I gathered a small harvest of dandelion flowers to make dandelion vinegar. Now, besides sawgrass that’s nearly three feet tall and is taking hours to remove, I have chives that are that tall, and I’ll use some of their flowers to infuse vinegar.

I have as much oregano now as I usually have in mid-summer. I have never seen such a robust season of growth. Let’s hope that continues and blesses me with lots of cherry tomatoes. That’s all I plant now for vegetables. I enjoy growing flowers and herbs, so I’ve decided to buy vegetables from those who enjoy raising them, which would not include me.

It’s been two years since I’ve been able to get into my gardens. It took eighteen months before my shattered elbow healed enough for me to use my arm and yet another year before I had enough strength to use it reliably and without the assistance of my other arm. I am elated to have full use of my arm, even after the surgeon said I wouldn’t regain more than sixty percent usage.

I took that dire prediction as a challenge, as unwelcome as it was. Seriously, do you know me? Tell me I can’t do something, and that’s exactly what I’ll do. Ask my mother, she’ll confirm this. The trauma of working through my injury was not fun, and I was, at first, more than a little upset that, once again, I had a setback. Except for this time, I had learned to honor “the pause.”

“The pause” is when something, probably anticipated and unwelcome, happens that slows your progression. It may be an injury, an upset of finances, severance from employment, or perhaps some other loss. I’ve had several over my lifetime, and I’ve grown from being impatient and angry about it to understanding that there’s a lesson here and a gift.

This time, the hard part was not only learning to elevate myself above the pain but being patient with being extremely tired. I used the rest of the time to learn to adapt to my injury. I learned to coax my body into healing. I used angel therapy and prayer to promote healing and connect with my inner self. I realized, once again, that until there’s proof I’ve reached my limit, I won’t stop trying to do better.

Have you had moments in life when you’ve been forced to pause? What did you do with those moments? What did you learn? What were the gifts realized?