It is a tree that my mother planted years and years ago... so it reminds me of her a lot.
I think she called it a Japanese magnolia but I probably need to look that up someday. But what it is for me is a reminder to stop and look and enjoy.
The picture below doesn't tell much... just a tree, you know? But it holds a promise
what this tree promises... is
BLOOMS! Tons and tons of booms! Lovely pale pink clouds of blooms.. you can kind of see the buds just beginning to open to the spring sun.
This tree blooms magnificently each year... for about a week. The flowers pop out before the leaves even get started... they are large and extravagant flowers. But the flowers are fragile.
Once they start to open.... any rainstorm.... or frost... or heavy wind..can damage them. You have to WATCH that tree.... you have to look at it and drink in the beauty and promise every chance you get. Because it is fleeting. And it is easy to miss.
A few of the flowers are just beginning to open! I will hope for a few days of sunny weather so that I can watch the tree in all its glory
But I need to remember that the beauty I am meant to see and appreciate is NOW.
I don't know what tomorrow may bring.... so I have a choice.... like you do... to hope and wait for the beauty I know MIGHT come... or to see what the beauty that is around me each day. The choice truly is whether to remain empty hoping for something magnificent..... or to fill my life with gratitude and beauty every day...
So my personal choice is to enjoy the swelling buds and the first few flowers TODAY... I will bring you photos of this tree as the week goes on and we'll see how much beauty we can gather together in the coming days :-)
Japenese magnolia sounds right though my grandmother had a tree like that in her yard years ago in Massachusetts she called a 'tulip tree' because she thought the blossoms looked like tulips.
ReplyDeleteMy neighbor across the street has one in bloom now along with the flowering pear trees in our front yard....they too are short-lived blooms but hold the promise of summer days...
Great post, I'll watch for more pics :)