Note: This story originally appeared on Country Living.
Country star Joey Feek, who is suffering from cervical cancer, is currently in hospice care with her husband and musical partner, Rory Feek, and their daughter, Indiana, by her side. Even though times are tough for the family, she's been able to incorporate what makes her happy into the end of her life.
Photos: Joey + Rory over the years
In a new post on his blog, This Life I Live, Rory talked about how gardening has always given his wife joy. "Spring is my wife's favorite season," he wrote. "It always has been. It's when she feels most alive. And this year, in spite of all she's going through… is no exception."
Before she fell ill, Joey would plant a big garden behind her farmhouse in Tennessee, and plan for months beforehand to get the perfect crop. Now, she has asked her family to save the shells from whenever they make eggs for breakfast. She then put soil into the shells and started growing little seedlings.
"As fun as it is to see the seeds coming to life, this isn't just fun for Joey. She does it because it's important to her," Rory wrote. "Planting a garden and raising food that she can feed her family is part of who Joey is. That doesn't stop just because you have cancer or are stuck in a bed for months-on-end. Life goes on. And what was important, is still important to her."
In fact, she included her garden in Joey+Rory's most famous song, "That's Important To Me."
Joey will have her family transport the seedlings into bigger pots, and hopes that they'll take the plants back to Tennessee to be planted in the garden. She's teaching Rory everything he needs to know about tending the garden after she's gone. "So thin and gaunt, and more frail than ever, my wife is sowing her seeds," Rory wrote, "putting down roots in the soil of our lives and hearts. Getting us ready for something that we can't see right now for the tears in our eyes… something she might not even get to see at all. Spring."
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