Life - grace grits and gardening

The Difference Between YOU and ME.

April 4, 2014 By Talya Tate Boerner

You: There’s a strange car parked in front of our house. The man inside is typing on his iPad. And I saw another strange car this morning when I was working in the yard.

Me: Oooooooh! Maybe we won the Publisher’s Clearinghouse Sweepstakes. I bet they are about to come to our front door with one of those giant checks for a bazillion dollars.

You: Or maybe you upset someone when you wrote about those apartments on the corner. Someone is casing our house, probably planning to burn it down.

Me: You think?

You: Yes.

Me: Nah… Probably Publisher’s Clearinghouse.

You: {insert head shake}

Me: {smiling}

Me and You ♥

Grace Grits and Gardening

Ashlie Tolliver Wilson: 6 months clean.

March 30, 2014 By Talya Tate Boerner

If you have been following Ashlie Tolliver Wilson’s day-by-day journey to escape fight addiction, you know what an inspiration she has become to so many. My first post about Ashlie has been one of my most shared posts proving her story is widely relatable.

Ashlie is a small town girl from Northeast Arkansas. She’s one of us. Today marks Ashlie’s six month clean date. When I asked Ashlie if she wanted to write a blog post to celebrate her six month milestone, this is what she shared…

Methamphetamine and Me

Meth was my best friend for six years.

Everything I did revolved around my addiction.

There were many people who tried to

Help me, and I tried many times to quit the

Awful habit. I didn’t want to be the

Me I had become. Several times I broke away but always got

Pulled back into a world I describe as

Hell on earth. At first I loved the wonderful

Euphoric feeling getting high gave me. But over

Time, euphoria turned to paranoia. The

Abuse to my body and mind wore me down.

My life spiraled out of control. I hit bottom, and

I hit hard. Finally I stood up and said

No more. Tired of that life, I did what some have called

Extraordinary. I fought back.

And much to my surprise, by doing something I

Never thought possible, I made up my mind,

Determined to win my battle against addiction.

My name is Ashlie Tolliver Wilson, and I am so very

Excited to be celebrating six months meth free.

Ashlie – then…

Ashlie today:)

Proud of you Ashlie!

Grace Grits and Gardening

Methamphetamine and Me is written in the style of an acrostic. If you are reading on a mobile device, the letters may not line up correctly…

I may never get my book published, but I can grow the perfect onion.

March 25, 2014 By Talya Tate Boerner

Underneath an endless sky, I have no concept of time. I gather kale and purple lettuce and baby spinach and the first onions from my garden. Perfect onions, like the ones momma grew on our farm when I was a kid.

Such a bountiful first harvest surprises me, especially the onions—fat, white bulbs topped with hearty greens and a tangle of roots filled with soil. Soil I worked with my hands. The same hands that string words together day after day. All day. Except when they are busy in the garden.

Even my husband is impressed. That onion came from our garden?

Everything came from our garden. Well, except the tomatoes. No tomatoes yet.

He stares, amazed.

And then while eating freshly harvested salad, I tell him about the email I received only an hour before. It was a good rejection letter, if there can be such a thing. She said I had a “light, delightful style” and her “decision was troublesome”… like maybe she almost said yes to publishing my book…

I ramble. Frustrated. Disheartened.

My husband listens. Condoles. She doesn’t realize what she’s missing…

I laugh yet don’t feel like laughing. I know I can sell my book. I told her that.

You did?

I nod.

I can’t believe this came from our garden, he says.

Well, I may never publish my book, but I can grow a perfect onion. And that’s worth something.

You should tell her that too.