I notice tiny little leaves at the end of each branch on our fig tree. They look like green origami ready to move in slow motion and take a new shape. I tell my husband I can’t believe winter is over, it seems like it never got cold, that the yard was never barren this past winter. Green covered the ground all year long. Fiona picks a tiny yellow daisy flower, she passes the tiny red flowers that grow up the side of the retaining wall. The ratio between the flowers growing and the length of Fiona’s legs are markers of time. I remember when I planted those wildflowers, spreading the seeds, so excited for them to grow. I remember the years I waited, the flowers didn’t grow right away. I would buy more seeds each year to plant hoping they would finally grow. I read once that wildflowers can stay dormant, for years sometimes, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t one day grow. I imagined my yard covered in wildflowers, but I never imagined my little girl, my daughter in her pink one-piece unicorn tutu, the outfit she wears everyday if it’s not in the washing machine. I watch my daughter, picking wildflowers I planted years before she was born. Little strings hang down from her sleeves and the tutu on the skirt is shrunk up. It’s not as long and flowy as the day I bought it for her. Spring, moving away from the gloominess of winter, days get longer and brighter, except on rainy days. Memories of tragedy that get stirred up in late December start to fade back again, making room for joy and happiness.
Tag: spring
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FLIES in the Kitchen, sweet, sticky, squares of waffle on the floor. Smeared yogurt, cheerios, some hard and shrunken from being soaked with milk, some bright and crispy just like they day I opened the box. Babies finally sleeping at same time for afternoon nap. It’s been a heel of a week. Jack no nap Tuesday, Fiona no nap Wednesday, Jack no nap Thursday, Fiona no nap Friday. All three of us woke up at 7:00 AM each day and were completely wrecked by 7:00 at night. I decided early on to just go with it. I could feel the tide changing a few weeks ago. The vocabulary, the upper body strength, the understanding of the Easter Bunny. This was a big one this week. I admit I went head strong into Spring, the full week of a diet consisting of vegetables and chocolate. Ohhhing and ahhhing at every lamb I saw in the pastures I drove by and every stuffed bunny on the shelf in the store. I even saw a real bunny eating green grass last Saturday in Bodega bay. I tried to dye Easter Eggs with the babies and Lindsay yesterday, but I bought the wrong color eggs and Jack and Fiona just wanted to throw the eggs and watch them crack. Today we went to the local parks annual Easter Egg hunt. Jack and Fiona were so excited. I really talked it up. We walked down the hill, Jack and Fiona carrying buckets, Billy barking from the deck, our neighbors walking down at the same time. One of them told me I needed to be more careful while walking around the sharp curve on our road. I guess one day she nearly hit us. I asked her, “Was it the day It was raining?” I told her there was a storm that day and Jack was scared of the wind and everything was all crazy. And sorry. The Easter Egg Hunt at the park was interesting, but overwhelming and the Easter Bunny looked really scary and some of the little kids started crying. Anyhow It’s probably time to clean up this mess. Get these flies outta the house.
Dirty Laundry Blog by Jennifer Hynes 