2015-05/15
Lilacs were a favorite of my mother’s. I remember when I was growing up. She planted two small twigs in the ground. I remember thinking there was no way these would ever be lilacs, but they grew. Within a few years they became lush lilac bushes that would perfume the air each spring. I always loved looking at those blooms.
Many years later, after I had been out on my own for some time, my mother moved in with my stepdad. Not too long afterward, she decided to sell the house. She was not ready to lose her precious lilacs, though. She took them with her and replanted them at my stepdad’s house. They flourished there just as well as they had flourished at the old house.
I remember the look my mom would get looking at them, the sparkle in her eyes, the smile. She did so truly love lilacs.
It was May and May is lilac season. This year my mother would be in the nursing home and unable to appreciate those magical blooms, though. It broke my heart. I ended up sneaking to my stepdad’s now vacant house and snipping some of the lilac blooms as well as a few other blooms from the yard to bring to her. It made me smile just remembering how she loved them.
I planned on bringing them to her at the nursing home. She might not remember how much she loved them, but I did and that counted for something, right? I wanted to bring them to her, let her sniff their intoxicating scent, and maybe, even for a brief moment she might remember how much she loved them.
I brought them to her the next day. I’m not sure if she remembered or not. It was bittersweet. I vowed to myself if I ever have a home I would plant lilacs there in her memory. She is the reason those blooms in the spring always make me smile, so taken am I by the magic of their scent, of the delicate lilac petals. Their season is so quick, so fleeting, but there is something so special about that. I want to be able
to experience that each spring, want to tend to the lilac bushes throughout the year for the beauty of those lovely spring blossoms glistening in the sunshine.