Inchworm by Susan L.

  "Two and two are four. Four and four are eight. Eight and eight are sixteen. Sixteen and sixteen are thirty-two. Inchworm, inchworm, measuring the marigolds, you and your arithmetic will probably go far. Inchworm, inchworm, measuring the marigolds, it seems to me, you'd stop and see how beautiful they are." author unknown
  In a blast from the past, this childhood song memory came to me this morning. The lyrics parallel accomplishing my to-do list one think at a time. Ha-ha, that's a typo. It's supposed to be one thing at a time but the whole whack of the to-do's is in my head.
  I'd managed to get a couple of jobs done yesterday before going to the doctors to see about this lingering, determined cough. Hopefully another course of antibiotics will kick it to the curb.
  One thing that has been hanging over my head for years was how to get rid of an ancient set of ugly bedsprings that once belonged to the antique, cast iron bed in the guest room. It had come with the original button tucked, extremely saggy mattress that has long been replaced with a proper box spring and mattress.
  I'd used it for a couple of years to grow cucumbers on. The vine would climb, the cukes hang down. It didn't take up as much room in the garden and the cukes didn't have an ugly, yellow side from resting on the ground. I haven't had a veggie garden for several years. The bedsprings have been moved around the yard since then somehow always seeming to be in the way.
   It looked to be rusted solid and because it wouldn't fit in the car, it hadn't been taken to the dump. It wouldn't have worked to tie it to the car roof because it might have damaged the paint. Should it be buried? Could it be used as a lattice for something? Should I just tuck it away behind the shed?
  I decided to tackle dismantling the now heavily rusted contraption. If necessary, the cast iron outer frame could be cut using a hack saw; a job that might last several hours or even weeks!
  A pair of pliers were used to wrestle the springs free that held the wires to the metal frame. As the last spring was unhooked, the frame fell apart. It startled me into laughing because it hadn't been welded or rusted solid but was merely held together by the tension of the springs. Years of complete agony and hand wringing about "what to do? what to do!" were swept away with a metallic clank. Thankfully it was when it hit the ground and not my head!
  While not a fan of marigolds, ergo I haven't any, the peonies are in full bloom. All of them. Even ones that weren't mature enough previous years. Their lovely fragrance fills the yard. This is the first time in as long as I can remember that it hasn't poured cats and dogs the day after they bloom, crushing the fragile flowers. So this rather large inchworm paused often to simply inhale the sweet, sweet smell.
  Thank You so much, my Lord: for successes, for Your provision, for Your creations. Thank You, so much, my Lord, for the ability to laugh at myself.
  "You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You will remain." Heb 1:10-11