Shelter inPlace, San Francisco, September 14, 2020
The appearance of these young artichokes so out of season throws me for a loop. So does their optimism - growing a little higher and bigger every day as if they have every right to be here and to flourish. I checked my garden diary and this particular artichoke - the only one we have - has always borne fruit in the spring, adding its bright purple thistle flowers to the riot of color that is May. Not now, not in September when all its neighbors are barely making it, just waiting for the rain. It all feels so out of whack.
My young grandsons are top of mind today, so far away and struggling to have a normal life, a so-called normal year of school. This is the beginning of their second virtual week and though the school calendar start was the same as every other year, all else about this one is different, out of whack. I cannot imagine what they’re going through, the social and academic life they're missing. Yet I trust their smarts and their resilience. They have the right and capability to flourish. They will adjust. But oh, if it were in my power to grant, I’d give them back their childhood and, with their parents, watch them safely off to school.