Make do with what you have

Today we harvested carrots and kale.  We pulled up the beans gone by and admired all the raspberries that are about to ripen.

We picked a big yellow bucket full of cosmos, roses, dahlias and sunflowers and put them in the visiting room for men to give to family and friends tonight.  One student was shoving thorny roses in his pocket to take to his daughter tonight.  I told him he was welcome to take them in the bucket and give them to her without hiding them.

As I was pulling away from jail today I rolled down my window to say hello to a former student who is now in charge of the grounds at the Boston Pre Release Center.  I admired his work and told him I was proud of him and he yelled “you gotta make do with what you have!”  At first I thought he was just grumbling but then I realized he was not, that he was indeed trying to make the best of his situation.  I then thanked him for reminding me of this important goal in life.