Since Tom has been home he has really taken to "gardening." Not rows of vegetables, or with a sun hat and gloves on - just enough to spruce up the front of our apartment. Something I don't think I ever expected. I knew he always liked being outdoors and working with trees and such but I didn't think I would be able to get dirty in potting soil and pick out colorful flowers. Tom has been home for a month and we have planted over 12 plants in the front of the apartment windows, he has picked up two hanging plants, I hand-painted three pots and taken care of his very own tomato plant. Today Tom and I wandered through six greenhouses picking out "thrillers, fillers and spillers" for our two over sized pots. As we debated on colors and annuals versus perennials, I realized how our love has bloomed. Bloomed in the past month. Of course Tom and I loved one another before he left but while he was away its hard to have that "bloom." I mean the excitement, the one the lights up your eyes, that kind that you just sit back and say, "Damn, I am lucky." I did have those moments while Tom was in prison via phone calls or letters, but after all that, it is a completely different "bloom." I read a quote earlier today, "the couples that are meant to be are the ones who go though everything that is meant to tear them apart and come out even stronger than they were before." Which is so true. Whether he is gone for months, years - the emotions are all the same, the feelings are always the same - it is just at different times according to the situation. It is a time when you both sit back and appreciate one another. You realize what you really mean to one another and it is an amazing gratification. As a "strong prison wife" (I put quotes around it since Tom is home, and honestly has the potential to go back) it really is an "AHHHH" moment. It is the little things like planting flowers that gives you something to look forward to. Something you want to do together. The gardening has become a hobby of both of ours, we both can be proud of and something that we do together - which is something I love. Spending time with Tom is something I personally cherish, so I will happily take up a new hobby that encourages more time with my husband.