River City Connections—2026-07-11 (Patreon)

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GARDENS WON’T WAIT by Cindi Curtis Allen

I wanted to do a quick check-in before I clean up for dinner. Michael is about ten seconds ahead of me on his way to the shower. He is cooking tonight, so he gets first turn.

Marriage is romance, but it is also shower scheduling.

It was too hot to do much gardening today, but gardens do not wait for cooler weather. Cucumbers still need picked. Tomatoes still need checked before the birds decide they were planted for them. Peppers still need attention, and herbs still get dramatic if you ignore them too long.

So I went out, sweated through my shirt, watered what needed water, pulled what needed pulling, and reminded myself that July in Memphis is not for the faint of heart.

Tonight, Michael is making his special secret recipe broiled tilapia.

It is not actually secret.

He sprays a cookie sheet with spray butter, puts frozen tilapia filets right on the sheet, spreads real butter over the frozen filets, then covers them with lemon pepper seasoning. The whole thing goes into the oven cold, then he turns it on to 450.

Once the oven gets to 450, he lets the fish bake until the centers start turning white. Then he turns the broiler on high and watches it closely until the edges get a little crispy. That part only takes a couple of minutes, so this is not the time to wander off and answer a text.

With microwave baked potatoes and fresh green beans from the garden, it is a meal to beat all meals.

July garden tip: water early in the morning when you can, and mulch around tomatoes and peppers if the soil is drying out too fast. Hot roots make stressed plants, and stressed plants do not produce as well.

Today’s verse is Proverbs 12:11 NIV: “Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies have no sense.”

There is something holy about doing the small, necessary thing. Water the garden. Pick the beans. Cook dinner. Wash the dirt off. Keep showing up for the life God gave you instead of wishing it looked more impressive.

Not every blessing arrives looking dramatic.

Sometimes it looks like dinner and a very needed shower.

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MISSING HANNAH by Emma Vale

Me and Noah are at Walmart in Bartlett stocking up for the week to come. Nothing fancy. Just simple things that stretch and do not make the bank account start crying.

We got some canned beans, soup, pasta sauce, noodles, rice, sandwich stuff, eggs, potatoes, and a few things we can cook fast if both of us come home tired. I am learning that being married means you do not just buy what sounds good right now. You buy what Future You is going to need when Future You is hungry and does not want to think.

Monday is my first real workday at Southwest Tennessee Community College, and I have classes too, so next week is going to be full. Noah’s schedule is already full. So we are trying to use the weekend to make life easier before it gets busy.

That makes me feel a little grown.

We also got a little bag of charcoal because Noah said we should make hot dogs on the grill tonight. Nothing major. Just hot dogs, maybe chips, maybe some beans if I get ambitious. But honestly, sitting outside with him while the grill gets going sounds kind of perfect.

Hannah called this morning.

Then she called again.

I knew I missed her, but talking to her made it hit harder. She said the apartment feels big and empty now, and breakfast is not the same. I told her our house still feels too quiet sometimes too. I miss her laugh. I miss her walking out looking fancy for work. I miss making pancakes and yelling that sausage biscuits were ready.

I miss knowing she was right there.

I love being with Noah. I love our house. I love this new life we are building.

But I guess moving forward does not mean you stop missing what mattered before.

It just means your heart has to learn how to hold both things at the same time.

So that is today. Walmart, canned goods, charcoal, hot dogs, a full week coming, and Hannah’s voice in my ear reminding me that Crossroads is still part of me.

Thanks for reading my story.

See y’all later.

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