Spring means it’s time to breathe fresh air after a winter of exhausting effort to endure and adapt to diseases. It’s the freshness of spring’s air, with its variety of smells from the area’s flora. The tree sap flows out of the bark. The blossoms fill branches with various colors. The magnolia, the elm, the lilac, the cherry, the spruce, and the birch add their enticing hues and shades. Those trees’ smaller companions — violets, daffodils, buttercups, tiger lilies, and daisies — sprout above the fields. Unfortunately, this growth comes with pollen, which often feels as though it’s layered inches high on the streets.
The church garden features tulips and roses. We see wildflowers bursting all over a guardrail on a nearby hiker’s hill. Winged insects nestle on tree branches. The yellow jacket buzzes; the dragonfly rests. Children run, romp, and play kickball and dodgeball.
As we lie on our cloth blanket for a late spring picnic, a bumblebee visits us, and a ladybug lands on my hand. As a child, I always made a wish before the ladybug flew away. I wanted to live with healthy lungs, never sneeze or cough again after my bronchitis infection, and never miss school again because of winter’s air diseases.
To spring’s renewal of life!
