When I started my backyard garden last spring and posted about it on social media, Laura Ward was one of the very first people to slide into my DMs with encouragement.
I knew Laura from afar. I had seen her and her husband, TV legend Dave Ward, who died Dec. 18, at countless social and philanthropic events around Houston. But I didn’t truly know either of them. Over the years, Laura and I exchanged the occasional message — mine about my annual holiday ice-skating party for area children, hers about her work as CEO and president of Houston Children’s Charity. She’d invite me to attend her community events, and I never could because I have two kids with busy schedules.
Still, our gardening conversation felt different. It was natural, unforced and rooted…