Day Two: Thoughts of Daffodils
That time is fast approaching, I can just feel it. Yesterday I was gazing out the office window looking onto Park Avenue and noticed the dividers that line the middle of the street now have flower beds that are all brown and barren. Normally there are plants of some sort that fill those spaces, but I could see we were clearly in a transition period. It was a bleak overcast day so I think it made it all the more melancholy to see the empty earth. Then I realized something fabulous, it's almost spring which means the daffodils will soon grace this stretch of urban road and winter will soon leave us.
Every year I look forward to this time, to the vibrant yellow that spans fifty or so city blocks and is the first sign that spring is about to burst forward and many bright and beautiful flowers will soon follow suit. I remember one specific day, 21 years ago, during a dark period in my life when sadness filled so much of my days and when on this March day, I was walking from my apartment to work and feeling very blue. I'd made it to Park Avenue and to the waiting area on one of these dividers letting a few cars pass so I could continue crossing safely and without trying or even being conscious of what was happening I felt my spirits lift so high and a smile spread across my face. I hadn't done anything to prompt these joyous feelings, I simply looked over to my right and saw the newly planted daffodils beaming up at me. It was joy personified through nature. Perfection!
From that point I've always looked forward to the first daffodil sightings and that feeling of joy that overtakes me. It's a beautiful gift the city planners give us each year and it's proof that something that seems so simply and small can change even the darkest of days and fill us with hope and joy. I'll post about this again I'm sure on the day I have my first Daffodil sighting of the year! So much to look forward to!
I'm excited for those daffodils to appear outside your office window. I could see you crossing Park Avenue and your thrill in seeing those beautiful yellow daffodils. I frequently go into the city and cross Park Ave on the Upper East Side. I'll look for them there soon. Here's to the joy they bring to our lives!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Heidi, I'm so glad you could picture them and my excitement. It so funny how it happens every year and almost always on a day I'm not expecting it. So wonderful with the sight of flowers can make us so happy. Yes, please look for them when you're visiting the city, it's amazing how happy they make us and definitely, here's to the joy they bring out lives!
DeleteHow I love daffodils! There is something so cheerful and joyous about them. Maybe this fall I will remember to plant some in my yard!
ReplyDeleteYes, so true, they are cheerful, like little smiles in flower form. :) I'm sure they will make your yard joyful and so happy you have a place to plant and enjoy nature right at home!
DeleteI love those spring moments of color. They do bring a brightness to any day and reminder of promises--new things to come. I'm waiting for the snowdrops here in Michigan. It will likley be only a couple more weeks and they will emerge. Always a mood lifter.
ReplyDeleteYes, those colors in spring brightening up our day and it's so nice when we get to stop and just be in that moment of bliss for a while. I had to look up snowdrops and they're so pretty, I can see why they'd bring you joy! I hope they spring up soon!!!
DeleteYes, I love daffodils too and the promise they hold! I now live in Australia where we don't get a real winter and the promise is not quite the same, but it still works!! Lovely writing.
ReplyDeleteInteresting, Celia, I hadn't given it a thought that when you don't have a real winter you don't have that coming out of the darkness and gloom, so-to-speak, and being greeted by the surprise and beauty of spring flowers but I imagine the flowers all year round are so beautiful they inspire you every day of the year!
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