A June Lilac Daybook

Close your eyes and let the lilac’s scent transport you to a world of serenity.

Unknown

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Hello Friend,

I’m happy to see you today, especially as I’m two provinces away from home, looking after our seven-year-old grandsons, Bright and Sunny. Thanks for finding me!

The Cowboy brought ‘home’ Rhubarb Strawberry Pie, so we’ll have a slice of that with our tea. Whipped topping for you? Let’s take it out on the deck, it’s such a beautiful day.

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Making tea is a ritual that stops the world from falling in on you.

Jonathan Stroud

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I hope you won’t be too confused if I include a few Daybook entries, mixed in with my other thoughts. It’s the way my brain is working today.

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Observing from the deck …

I sit under a huge umbrella, on grey and white striped cushions which cover freshly varnished wooden couches. Sunny and Bright play in the neighbour’s pool; the water is a little cold, but the sun is warm. Poplar fluff floats around like lost snowflakes.

I am wearing …

Ankle length pants in hot pink, white V-neck T-shirt, and toenail polish called Strawberry Margarita

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Sweetie and I went to the lake the other day. As we walked along the path, we passed a lilac bush that towered over our heads, erupting with white blossoms. We thought it looked like they were getting to the end of their life, but when we got closer we realized that many tiny flowers were still in bud. It’s a bit unusual to find a lilac bush still budding at the end of June, and I received it as a gift, in what has been a traumatic and tumultuous month.

According to Better Homes and Gardens, “White lilacs represent purity and innocence …” How symbolic, as I thought of Little Man, the twins’ 10-year-old brother, innocently trusting doctors to cure what had been analyzed as migraines, but instead ending up in the Children’s Hospital for emergency brain surgery, then another one, and finally, a third surgery.

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The lilac branches are bowed under the weight of the flowers: blooming is hard, and the most important thing is—to bloom.

Yevgeny Zamyatin

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“… Purple lilacs symbolize spirituality, and if the blooms edge more on the blue side of the colour wheel, they symbolize happiness and tranquility.” Happiness and tranquility. Hmmm. I can’t say we’ve been happy through this whole ordeal, but joy is different from happiness, isn’t it?

Happiness says, “Look at me, basking in this pleasure.” Joy says, “Though life is hard, I trust in the One who knows all.”

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The very nature of Joy makes nonsense of our common distinction between having and wanting.”

C.S. Lewis

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I am thankful …

for the God-given instincts of a mother, who would not give up on advocating for her son, taking him to ER after ER after ER until someone listened to her. Without her courage, the outcome would have been devastatingly different. This is not an exaggeration.

I am learning … again …

Storms are best faced head on. Like the bison, who turns to run into an oncoming storm, I can get through it quicker head on, as opposed to a cow, whose instinct is to run away from it, thus being overtaken and spending a longer time in it.

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In my garden …

I had barely finished planting my flowers and vegetables before we left to care for the boys, but Mom & Dad, who are looking after pets and gardens while we’re away, say that everything is coming along nicely. And remember the little lilac bush we planted last year, a day before that destructive hail storm that I thought destroyed it?

It’s blooming.

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Thanks so much for taking the time for a visit today, it was lovely to have you here.

In case you were wondering … after a month in hospital, Little Man came home this week, and is planning his welcome home party. It’s been quite a remarkable, and sometimes miraculous, journey. He still has a whole summer of outpatient treatment to go through, but it’s wonderful that they can finally be together as a family again.

I should be back home next time you visit and you won’t have to travel so far to find me.

Stay safe out there, and see you next time.

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In the presence of lilacs, life’s simple moments become extraordinary.

Unknown

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Feature Image by Nicky ❤️🌿🐞🌿❤️ from Pixabay All other photos from Pixabay.

© Joylene Bailey 2024