I rise early on a Sunday to prepare for the Kickapoo Valley Forest School planting day. A quirky voice in the back of my head teases, “What, you don’t get enough gardening during the week? You also volunteered to plant a garden on a Sunday…in the rain?” I hush the voice and braid my hair. By my second cup of coffee, I’m excited to plant with the kids. Soon after I arrive at the garden, young children spill out of cars wearing the cutest little rain boots. These little booties work alongside their mothers planting seeds and it’s enough to melt your heart into a puddle, a watery pancake on the pavement, waiting for little feet to splash through. Although they don’t quite get the concept of walking on the path (not the plants), you just can’t get mad at that level of cuteness. Their mothers gently encourage them to follow the garden paths, and it’s a beautiful kind of love to witness on a Sunday.

~Joy