Gardening in a Burning House

I bought begonias. And hibiscus. And roses. I planted lettuce and beans and mint and kale. The rest of the garden is at my parents’ house.

I really wanted to turn my balcony into a summer oasis this year. I don’t know why. I’ve had a balcony in all of my apartments for years now, all of them bigger than this one.

But when people are getting shot up in the news, when the thought of dating again makes you feel nauseous and being single is exhausting, when you go through a power outage and have to throw out a fridge of food and buy groceries when inflation…