It’s mid-January
and it’s bucketing.
Paul and I are out
in the garden
pruning the apple tree.

Wearing a helmet
(just in case!)
I hold the ladder steady
while Paul lops branches
overhead.

Glancing up
I see Paul at work
and I blink against the rain.
Raindrops trickle
down my sleeve
(yuk!)
and in through the slats
of my helmet.
My coat is dripping wet
but I’m smiling!

Whoever could have pictured this
when, as a young couple,
we made our vows
one sunny St Columba’s day?
That one day,
thirty years later,
we’d be retired
and working together as a wee team,
pruning trees
in the garden …
in the rain?

And as the rain blows
into my eyes
I say a quick prayer of thanksgiving
for thirty years spent
with the man I love.

© Claire Murray, 14th January 2021