A sudden gift of a day.

I don’t want to sound like a whiner but I will say this: Mother Nature doesn’t always play fair with me. I don’t get every weekend off like many (not all) do. I get every other weekend off because I work at a library and the library is open seven days a week! My weekends are special. We, at the library, look forward to our weekends like souls thirsty for rest and relaxation. Let’s be honest, very few of us get the above stated rest and relaxation because….laundry, dirty house, bills, meal prep for the week and chores! And here is where you will tell me to quit whining. But I will say it anyway. Most the time it RAINS ON MY DAYS OFF! Ok, now that’s out in the universe, let’s move on.

Today was different. I woke up after a restful sleep. The sun was bright and my reading chair was awash in its golden light. The sky was baby blue with pillowy clouds lazily floating by. The tree in my backyard is full of buds and the daffodil bulbs which we discarded from our flower patch in ignorance has bloomed at the edge of our yard. We threw them out there but they come back each year to put a smile on our faces. They bring me joy. There is something special about these exuberant, bright yellow flowers that inspire hope and happiness in me.

For me, they are the first signs of spring. The second sign is the sighting of ants in my bathroom. I think I have written in one of my blogs that the first appearance of ants make me happy. That means spring cannot be far behind. Oh stop with your cringing! I am from India, I have seen worse than ants. I get mad at them as summer progresses though.

I can not stand winter. I love spring because it is full of hope, sunshine, and longer daylights but spring also means I have endured another winter. Fall is beautiful too, but what follows Fall? Not so much. No matter how long I live in this country, I cannot get used to winter.

I wanted to keep this day in my memory. I nodded at the happy daffodils today, watched an amazing performance at a local theater and witnessed a spectacular sunset.

Simple joys.

Spring

There is something about spring. Yes, even when it is overcast. I find myself smiling at carefully nurtured spring flowers as well as the unwanted (yet often very beautiful) weeds. The light green buds on trees, the glorious magnolia trees showering me with petals on my daily walks, the few cherry blossoms that waited for my return, the yet-to-bloom but full-of-promise rhododendron bush in my yard, the busy ants, who will soon become a pain as summer approaches, the smell of sweet basil in my back deck from the saplings I just bought yesterday, the frolicking bunnies in the yard, the young sunlight forcing its way through grumpy clouds and washing the floor of my living room – all of these make me thankful and fill me with good cheer and, most importantly, hope.

And this is perhaps the only time I tend to be slightly poetic, despite schedules, travels, commitments et all.

I weeded my flower bed diligently, yet I see a few weeds sprouting already. But my peony is coming back and rhododendrons will bloom soon. I see a couple of gladiolus stalks sprouting up. I uprooted all the flower plants after last year’s bloom except obstinate ma plant. It is the red geranium which I planted last year, the day after she died. It looks dead still and shows no sign of life. But it is spring, it is the time of resurrection and also hope. So I live in hope that it will come back to me and bloom in all its glory.

Through my kitchen window…..

Here is my loyal companion. I ignore her mostly, glance at her impatiently while planning my to-do list, look at her sometimes yet really don’t look. But she dresses up for me in her green splendor every summer, and waits patiently for me to peek out of my kitchen window to show off her regal form and soothing green. She turns bright red in fall, catches the last rays of the setting sun to shine resplendently. In winter, she spreads out her bare branches and reaches up to touch the gray, winter sky. And in spring, she gives me hope that the long, dark winter is behind us. She tells me stories of new life, new hope, a new beginning. My children hung their swing from one of her branches, they played many imaginary games under her strong trunk, in the dark, cool shade she created for them. They climbed on her and dangled their feet licking Popsicle. They built their tree house on her. She is a trusted friend, a confidante, a playmate.

For me, she is my constant in a busy life. I look out of my kitchen window, she is waiting for me….. patiently.