I’m listening to the birdsong just outside my open window as I type these words. It’s a glorious spring morning, a sun-drenched day like we’ve been waiting for all through the drab days of winter.
Yesterday, I picked a fragrant bouquet of peonies that sit on my kitchen windowsill. Oh, their perfume takes me back to years past, and the mixed aroma of peonies and iris (or flags as some called them then).
In my area of Kansas, they all bloomed around Memorial Day, and so adorned our loved ones’ final resting places on Memorial Day. I spent some time in Kansas recently and noticed how lush the lilac bushes were this year, and how they filled the air with their sweet perfume. “The lilacs bloomed today! And every time I see them bloom, I see my mother’s face,” was a verse I wrote years and years ago. On May 12, mom and dad’s anniversary, you can be sure bouquets of lilacs adorned their home.
When I began writing this “blurb” today, I was headed a whole different direction. Somehow the song of the birds and the scent of the flowers speak to my heart this morning, even more so than on previous mornings. Soon the bacon and eggs will be sizzling on the stove, laundry will be started, and the everyday chores of our lives will begin. But for now, the birds are singing!!!
“You’re only here for a short visit. Don’t hurry, don’t worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way.” ~ Walter Hagen