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Dear Diary

Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Written for Great Minds Think –
“What the Hedge Knows”. Our hosts,
Sarah & Rohini, ask us to use this image
as inspiration for our piece, keeping
our main focus on the hand.

© Ann H. @ Pexels

January 14th

The frost came hard again last night, and this morning the garden looked like something out of an old photo, all grey and silver, every leaf stiffened into its own small sculpture. I went out anyway; I always do, even now in this cold that gets into my knees and makes Robert’s absence feel less like an ache and more like a fact I keep tripping over.

I found the old glove wedged in the boxwood hedge, the one I lost last winter. Just the fingers were poking up through the frozen leaves, stiff and pale, curled like it was still reaching for something. It startled me for half a second …. silly, I know …. before I self-consciously laughed at myself.

There’s a memory I’ve been having where Robert’s hand reaches out to steady me on the ice, even though I’m not in any apparent danger of falling. That’s all it is …. not him, just his hand, reaching out. And then it ends. I’ve gotten better at not dwelling on it. Most days.

I pulled the glove free …. torn now, useless, the leather hard and cracked. I almost threw it out, but didn’t. I put it on the shelf in the shed next to his boots, which I also haven’t managed to give away. I told myself it was practical, that leather can sometimes be saved. I know that isn’t why I kept it.

The hedge needs cutting back before spring. I’ll ask Tom from next door to help with the heavy branches. Everything else, I still do myself, and I find I don’t mind it as much as people expect me to. There’s a rhythm to tending a garden alone that nobody tells you about …. not lonely, exactly, just quiet, in a way that has its own kind of company, if you let it.

Think I’ll put the kettle on and call it a day.

NAR©2026

This is “Frozen Pines” by Lord Huron

Great Minds Think – “What the Hedge Knows”

Everything on The Elephant’s Trunk was created by me unless otherwise indicated, and may not be used without permission. Thanks for your consideration. NAR©2017-present.



31 thoughts on “Dear Diary”

  10. What a beautifully written piece Nancy. Grief has its own way of showing up when we least expect it, the sudden smell of something, a word uttered by someone, an object and thrown open are the floodgates to the memories we thought we had sealed away.

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  12. This is so sweet and sad, it hit me hard. It’s been just over a year since my father-in-law died and I know my mother-in-law still struggles every minute of every day without him. The quiet weight of a garden that needs tending to without the person you grew it with by your side is very poignant.

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    1. Oh, Sweets. Please accept my condolences at the passing of your father-in-law. My sister’s husband died 7 months ago; she’s lost right now. September has been very difficult for her as her wedding anniversary was on the 3rd and her husband’s birthday is tomorrow. I think subconsciously my story was written about her. Thanks for reading, my friend, and sharing your thoughts. 🥹

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