Yesterday, I did two things. First, I canceled my plane ticket and hotel for a July trip to London. I was to be presenting at the International Creative Writing Conference, which is not happening now. I was also planning to do some research for a few essays about when I lived there for a few years in the eighties.
Of course, I’m bummed not to be going this summer. Slowly, all my plans for the summer are dying as are most folks’ plans. Of course, planning is all about the future. Through one lens, the future gapes: a black hole of uncertainty.
The other thing I did yesterday was plant vegetable seeds: arugula, spinach, carrots, basil, yellow squash. Seed sowing is inherently chancy. Soil conditions, seed quality, fertilizer, sun, water – all have to balance for anything to grow. Some seasons, you stare at dead earth, wondering what happened. Other seasons, fruit hangs heavy on the vine.
This morning, I said to my husband, Paul, “Here’s the daily sprout report. No sprouts yet.”
Today, a couple of windows into the future.
–KLB
