Well, mother-in-law, your Hoe finally broke a couple of days ago.  How many years did you use that amazing tool??  Your son says at least twenty years you scratched away the weeds with that thing.  You have been gone for another twenty-six years.  And since we now live in “your” house, that means that I’ve been using The Hoe for about six years longer than you did!  That was one good Hoe.

Every time time I used The Hoe I thought about you, diligently pushing it back and forth among your astounding varieties of dahlia plants, making sure that no encroaching weed was detracting from their beauty.  Then on to the veggies, rows of them, all of them determined to shelter still more sneaky, green intruders.  Any grandchild who spent a summer night at your house woke to the scritch-scratch, scritch-scratch of Grandma’s Hoe, as you worked in the garden while the sun was still in the tree-tops.

Then came the day that you tried to ignore a terrible head-ache and went out to hoe the garden in spite of it.  You were almost finished when the headache became unbearable, and you made your way across the driveway with The Hoe to lean on the old, grey Plymouth for support.  When you fell, the dog barked urgently until Grandpa came to investigate.  You never regained consciousness on this earth.

I’m not superstitious, but I have to admit that it has crossed my mind more than once in the last twenty-six years, that maybe The Hoe would claim two Grannies!  I know that you worried about a lot of things, and I am sorry that you had to deal with Fear for so many years. I allowed you to pass some of that along to me, and I remember what it was like to be immobilized by it.

But I’m glad that you are free now, and if you can see us, you are probably amazed that your son didn’t die by the time he was forty (or earlier) as you feared.  Instead, he’s been sitting on “your” steep roof for a month and a half, working away, artificial heart-valve, pace-maker, blood-thinner and all.  He’s already enjoyed at least thirty-three bonus years!

Today I bought a new Hoe.  I’ll hang the old one on the wall in the garden house to remind myself that I did outlive The Hoe!   But I don’t think I have much chance of wearing out that new one!