#MarysWish

Wrinkle Creative | By Mallory Patterson

People are truly amazing. As I recall the experience I had today with a woman I met just yesterday, those are the only words I can find to describe it all. While Randy and I were working the Grand Rapids Balloon Festival, we met a woman who lived in the area and was perusing the hot air balloons in the Gordon Food Service parking lot when she caught eye of our camera. We began talking about all kinds of cool things - her past schooling in horticulture and her love of writing and farming among other things. Then, to our surprise, we found out that her birthday was coming up and for it she had only one wish:

This video truly spoke to me. The topic of suicide has been dominating the media after the passing of Robin Williams and articles are being circulated discussing many different elements from mental illness and depression to its social impact and contagion. I think what Mary does is remind us to bring it back down to Earth and to not forget that suicide is not some abstract concept we're not connected to or can't have an impact on. Our interactions with one another can have a profound impact, both positive and negative, and her wish is that we tip the scales and shift our energies into making a positive impact in someone else's life. To let people know they are valued and supported. More simply, she wants us to share the love.

This stranger named Mary impacted me so much in one small conversation on a sunny day in West Michigan that I felt compelled to reach out to her. She was soft-spoken and bursting with compassion and I wanted to know more about her. So, Randy and I contacted her and spent an entire afternoon on her family farm. It was there that I learned a little more about life, a little more about love, and a lot about food and farming!

Mary lives with her sister on the Allegan Historic Farm & Learning Center - land that was developed during the Civil War era. They grew up on the 60-acre farm that they inherited after their parents' passing and want to turn it into a community space focused on regenerative agriculture, experiential learning, creative arts, and community development.

The two sisters have big dreams to make an impact in the Allegan area and as we toured the farm, I saw the vibrant and vital community hub of their dreams come alive right before me. They have plans to give back in a major way and that spoke volumes to me as I began to hear Mary's story unfold. 

Mary is no stranger to hardship and after several losses in life brought her from Washington to her childhood home in Michigan, she is determined to live out her dream, no matter what it takes. Her passion was evident as she taught us about vermicomposting, rain barrels, and growing different fruits and vegetables. Call me out of touch, but I had no idea that when you dig up a potato plant, potatoes pop out of the dirt like gold in sifter! We picked raspberries and strawberries as we heard Mary tell us about the Love Letter Project and her involvement in ArtPrize last year and it became apparent to me that here was a woman down on her luck working to raise funds to remodel her barn into a classroom space, taking care of her family, and maintaining a farm, who wanted nothing more on her birthday than to hope her penny in the fountain could cause a ripple worldwide. That everyone could tell someone they are loved. How simple and profound a wish.

I was inspired this weekend. I was shown that dreams - no matter how big or small - should be pursued and that one person, one conversation, one moment, can change someone's life forever. 

Will you grant Mary her wish?