Up here in these parts we take a lot of pride in our fall colors, and if you do head UP NORTH from here, the colors can be as beautiful a scene as you will ever experience. But last Friday, almost for the first time, I realized how beautiful is spring. Now, one week later, it's rained a couple of times and most of these blossoms are on the ground. Everything is leafing and turning "summer green". This splash of nature's beauty goes by so fast here, its' easy to miss as you see those first blooms and immediately start thinking about summer.
Life is like that, no? I think of all the preparation for my wedding some 32 years ago. Before I knew it, we were on a plane for our honeymoon, then back to work. I really have to think hard to remember the ceremony itself (it wasn't hotter than hell, but it was just a few blocks north), and then all the details of the reception. Christmas, anniversaries, even a great dinner cooked at home; all the build up, then it's over, and we almost forget what happened. All of a sudden there's a pile of dishes, a pile of wrapping paper, a pile of cards, and I almost forget what it was all about to begin with.
Whether you're 18 or 80, there's still time to relish those events of life. Every spring, every fall, every first frost, first tulip, first kiss, first love, first everything. And then the second and so forth. Many people I've met have some great memories, but they never mention the perfume of the magnolia blossoms as they bloom. They never mention the flaming orange maple leaves in October, or the work of Jack Frost on the kitchen window that first frozen morning of winter. They don't mention the sun-sent golden sparkles dancing on the summer lakes' waves. They don't mention the first feel of summer-warmed beach sand between their toes, the way the air caresses your face that first warm spring day. They forget the best cup of hot chocolate ever after buildling a snowman on a cold winter morning. They can't even remember the crisp autumn air at a Big Ten football game, the greatest smells EVER the first time they walked into Old Tiger Stadium or Fenway or Wrigley.
I thought of how easy I've neglected the beauty of spring lo these many years. I thought how easy it was to take everything in stride, one moment just a piece of your life fitting together into your own personal jigsaw puzzle. You're glad there's another piece, but when you finish it, do you remember the small moments, or just the fact that you've built the picture?
Here's to the smell of the first warm spring rain each year. Here's to the smell of the neighbor's fireplace on a cold Sunday evening in October. Here's to each January icicle, shining, sparkling and adorning the house like a diamond necklace. Here's to the beauty of a Northern Michigan summer sunset, the sky just turning dark as the time nears 10:00.
Here's to my daughter's first steps, my son's first words, my wife's first homemade birthday cake. Here's to the first hug I ever remember getting from my dad. Here's my mom's loving back rubs when I was sick as a child. Here's to the first time I knew God is real.
And then, here's to the second steps, the second words, the next cake (all very tasty, dear). Here's to every spring, summer, fall and winter smell, sight, and feel. Here's to every kiss, every touch every taste. Here's to every prayer, every dream, every effort everytime.
As I near 54 years of age, it amazes me when I have to say, "well FORTY years ago...." Really? Forty years ago? I was 14, I remember 1971 very well. My sister graduated from High School. My dad and I put tile, paneling and a ceiling in the basement. The Viet Nam war was still going on, you could still get gasoline for 19.9 cents a gallon when competing stations would have a price war. My dad would say "fill it with ethyl" when we'd take the car on long trips to the Upper Peninsula. Richard Nixon was President. The Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain were real. Forty years?
Now I'm trying to remember that High School Graduation. It was an evening event at the football field where my graduation would be 4 years later. Tim Laing was the Valedictorian, my sister was Salutatorian. I liked her speech. My mom and dad were there, one of the last times when we would do anything as a family. The Maverick gas station at Middlebelt and Merriman would have that low priced gas to spur business. I remember the young man, with his "garage blue" pants and jacket, a shop rag hanging out of his back pocket checking the oil and squeezing every last drop of gas into that Chrysler Newport. The Berlin wall and the Iron Curtain were ominous names, something to be feared, something to remind us of how good we have it in the U.S.
My daughter's wedding is coming up one week from today. Both my children graduated from Michigan State University last spring, it was just yesterday (2004 and 2006) when I watched them both graduate from High School. It was just last week when I shared an orange pop and bowl of popcorn with my daughter the night after my son was born and he and my wife were still in the hospital. It was just last month when, about a month after we moved into our first house my wife told me she was pregnant with our daughter. It was just last year when I dropped my date off at her home on a summer's night and KNEW I was in love. It was just a couple years ago when my mom, dad and sister would spend two weeks at my Aunt Ty and Uncle Happy's house. Yup, Ty and Hap.
I look out the window on this rainy Sunday and the pink and white blossoms have been washed from the trees, it's hard to remember how pretty they were just yesterday morning. I'm glad I have the pictures. It's kind of chilly and I can't smell the magnolia tree in my front yard. I just had dinner with my cousins, of whom I am the youngest. Yikes.
Take time to smell the roses, smell the coffee, hug your kids, love your spouse, take in all this world has to offer. Time doesn't wait for anyone, right? So don't you wait till you "have the time" to enjoy all that life, and our Lord, offers. See ya'. Just for kicks, click on the title of this post and enjoy.
