Sally Royer-Derr

“One of the most important elements in life to me? Peacefulness.”
― Sally Royer-Derr, The Forever Home

“Peace gives you clarity. I’d lived without peace for too many years to know how important it is to cultivate and nurture. I bent over to attend to the beans once more. I only had one row left to do. I’d keep a bowl for our refrigerator and the rest would go to the store with me tomorrow to sell. I was on my own tonight. Archie had Back-to-School Night and wouldn’t be home until after nine. Today had been cloudy, so evening seemed to descend earlier than normal. I hurried down the last row, finally putting the last of the beans in my bushel basket. I plopped down in the grass behind the garden, facing the back of our house, and began cleaning them, snapping the ends of the beans off, breaking them in half and placing them into the large bowl I’d brought out from the kitchen. Lightning bugs began to appear, their small lights dotting the darkening sky. I snapped beans and admired our home. The hayfields to the left were neatly cut, thanks to John, but the right side and along the back of the yard was surrounded by tall cornstalks with deep green leaves; while Archie enjoyed the”
― Sally Royer-Derr, The Forever Home