Planting Seeds
Thursday, April 26, 2012 at 1:00AM 
Seeds need to be planted in fertile ground, then loved, nurtured and fed until they grow into hearty plants that bear fruit of their own. In this way, seeds and children are the same. On April 22nd, Earth Day, we celebrated the 10th anniversary of Jackson’s death in the best way we knew how; we went to a co-op farm in Malibu with dear friends to plant seeds in fertile ground.
I know celebration seems like an odd word for a father to use when commemorating the death of his first child. Vivid memories make Jackson’s death seem like yesterday, but ten years’ time dulls the painful edges of grief. So this celebration wasn’t somber but a bittersweet tribute to life and love, family, friends, grief and perseverance, and above all the memory of sweet Jackson. We used to say Jackson sang with perfect pitch because he sang with pure joy, especially when there was a little red box of raisins clenched in his hand.