Last night I went to my community garden plot. A stranger approached me while I was there which is not unusual; it’s one of the reasons I love the community garden.

We were talking about my garden, what I had planted and how long I had been there. He mentioned both of his parents were quite the green thumbs and that’s where he learned all of his tricks from.

They have both passed away, but he was passing on their memory and legacy to me.

He proceeded to tell me about the unusual types of tomatoes, corn and cucumbers they had planted, how he has tried to find seed so he too could grow the same kinds.

He mentioned they would always trim the bottom leaves on their tomato plants for air flow and he still does it this way too.

I was struck after our conversation how often I hear similar stories. When someone mentions their loved one who passed away, they often follow up with something they loved, or something they learned from them.

Isn’t that what we all want?

When we lose someone we love, we don’t want to also lose everything about them.

We keep their clothes so we can still smell them. We keep their music queued up so we can listen to their favorite songs. We re-read their favorite novels so we can get lost in the same books. We keep their favorite casserole dishes so we can serve our meals in them too.

And we tell stories about them. We pass on what we learned.

This man was sharing part of his parent’s legacy with me. And I felt honored that he was taking the time to share a piece of his story with me.