C19: Lilac Season

One of my favorite times of year. When the smell of lilacs sifts through the air, I am instantly transported back in time to my Grandma and Grandpa McKinley's house, not too far from the house where I grew up. In fact, it doesn't so much feel 'back in time' as it does just 'to another part of the world.' It feels like a part of the world I can still visit because of how vividly I experience it when walking past a lilac bush.

They had a big one out front of their home, to the right side of the door. I remember running past it, playing on the picnic table nearby, and often stopping to smell and pick the flowers, which I'd deposit into little drinking glasses on the kitchen table for safe keeping (for however long they'd last). That little portion of the yard, as soon as you ran East of the house, would just pour open into a big hill that opened into a valley with woods behind it. I wish I could remember more about the valley and the woods. I suppose when we were little, we just didn't spend as much time that far out from the house.

I'm grateful for how lilacs place me into this spot in my life, despite the seasonal allergies I've developed in the last 7 years or so. Seven years. Putting that into writing makes it seem like I've been experiencing seasonal allergies for awhile now, yet every year I still forget I have them, and think I'm sick. In fact, this year, I thought perhaps it was Covid-19. Needless to say and in light of this, this season was really the first time I've been grateful for my allergies.

Back to lilacs. I can honestly say that I feel satisfied with how their smell can transport me to my grandparents: it doesn't make me feel sad or wish things were different. They are as they are, and I have the fortune to be able to recall aspects of my time with them so vividly.

In this, the smell of lilacs also reminds me to take deep breaths. As a pretty bodily-aware person, I never fail to be surprised by how fully I inhale and exhale when reminded to by something like the smell of lilacs, or the other Spring seasonal smells in my neighborhood, which is full of bright, beautiful flowering trees and plants. In turn, I'm also surprised by how shallow I tend to breathe regularly. In these past couple weeks and probably for a couple more, I have found and will find that I am continually reminding myself to 'enjoy this time while it lasts.' It's pretty finite, this period of blooming.

At risk of stating the obvious, I'll extend this beyond blooming spring. I suppose I should really also remind myself to enjoy this unexpected 'quarantine' time while it lasts, as I am fortunate enough to be comfortable at home, enjoying seeing my partner more, nesting a bit and cooking good food. Beyond this, I'll acknowledge that 'enjoy this time while it lasts' can apply, and could probably stand to be applied more often, to really any span of time. Any moment. Any trip. Any bonfire. Any good meal.

Any hug.

Any HUG.

Any 'get-your-face-right-up-in there,' full-bodied sniff of lilacs in bloom.