Lilacs

It's the weekend of the Portland Flower Show and with it comes memories of lilacs, and lunch and cocktails with my sister. We had this yearly tradition of spending the entire day, snow, rain or shine having lunch at the Regency Hotel, then going to the flower show to get that first breath of spring. We even tried to wear spring like clothes only to be defeated by snow and ice a couple of times. Walking through the show together was wonderful and renewing the thought that yes, spring is really coming, and yes, we can get our hands into the dirt once again and plant our summer gardens. Up until the show, we had to content ourselves with reading the Burpee catalog to get that feeling. This was so much more, you could smell the green, almost feel the soil in your hands and enjoy the sights of the flowers planted just for this one weekend. You could imagine having a garden the likes of which you'd never had, with pergolas, swings, adirondack chairs and little, quiet perfect spots to just sit and enjoy nature, or read a book, or maybe just think.

I haven't been to the Flower Show since my sister passed away a few years ago. I miss it, the experience we had together, and of course, I miss
her. One year, we passed a booth that held the photographic work of an artist that specialized in scenes of flowers and such and I admired a print of lilacs. These have always been a favorite, maybe because of the heavenly scent or maybe because their season is so short that it makes them so much more precious. The print was quite expensive, more than I could afford at the time so much as I hated to, I had to pass. To my surprise when my birthday came in the fall and we were having our birthday celebration, my sister had purchased that print for me. It goes everywhere I go, is hung on my bedroom wall to remind me of her and the fleeting nature of both the flower and time. It all goes so quickly. It reminds me to live now while I can, because it can end all too soon.

I will wait for the lilacs of spring and think of her.