the gardener is patient

March 11th, 2012

A letter received in a hand-addressed envelope in the mail:

Dear loyal customer,

I have been in the hospital since 3/5/2012 and will be undergoing surgery on Friday 3/9/2012. After surgery, I will be out of commission for 2-3 weeks due to recovery. I would like to continue to work for you in your garden after my recovery and hope you can be patient until then. I do apologize for this inconvenience.

Sincerely,

Mr. J.I.

This gentleman is close to 80 years old. Today, he swept away inconvenience and pruned my impatience. I will never take his work away from him. His work will never end.

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12 Comments »

  1. This takes my breath away!
    (and I’m glad for you he didn’t have his surgery in autumn, with all those leaves… who knows what will sprout without pruning?)

    Comment by Roos — March 11, 2012 @ 10:22 am

  2. This brought tears to my eyes, such a gift of spirit from him to you, and you with the wit to see it and return it. A good lesson, indeed.

    Comment by Anonymous in Mpls — March 11, 2012 @ 5:06 pm

  3. compassion as the result of simple honest communication.
    my dream: to get there without the note….probably not in this lifetime…

    Comment by MJ — March 12, 2012 @ 6:24 am

  4. I am deeply touched by the sweet,tender, straightforward simplicity of this sweet,tender, straightforward interaction, between two, and now many of us.
    Thank you,Karen, again for your perceptiveness and gift to us.

    Comment by Katharine Weinmann — March 12, 2012 @ 8:35 am

  5. Sending get well wishes to him!

    Comment by Jamie — March 12, 2012 @ 9:39 am

  6. I cannot breathe. This is so lovely. I am wishing him all the best in his recovery. No wonder your garden is so beautiful.

    Comment by Katie Murphy — March 13, 2012 @ 8:36 am

  7. Simplicity. Honor. Love. Thank you for sharing your ‘garden’ with us!

    Comment by Eva Brune — March 13, 2012 @ 9:50 am

  8. Thank you for sharing the simplicity of a hand-written note, and the complex nature of human connection that is contained therein.

    Comment by Stephanie Rayburn — March 13, 2012 @ 1:30 pm

  9. This is love. Beautiful, tender, honoring love…going two ways. A lovely expression…

    Comment by Julie Daley — March 13, 2012 @ 1:32 pm

  10. […] Karen often brings me to tears just when I really need to be brought there. She shares how:: His work will never end. […]

    Pingback by Beautiful faces. Magical places. — Hannah Marcotti — March 16, 2012 @ 2:31 am

  11. I hear you lesson.

    Comment by Jess — March 24, 2012 @ 6:05 am

  12. […] “This gentleman is close to 80 years old. Today, he swept away inconvenience and pruned my impatience.” – http://www.karenmiller.local/the-gardener-is-patient […]

    Pingback by Power Verbs - The Fast Track to Saucy Sentences | — May 4, 2012 @ 8:13 am

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