It's almost that time again! The flowers are just starting and we should see them open in the next couple of weeks here in Victoria! I always keep my eyes open for side of the road bushes I can pick from for a free Mothers Day bouquet!
A lilac story that comes to mind that I will never forget is the scent of Lilacs on the warm morning summer air in Edmonton. The memory that is evoked from when I lived there is when I worked a few overnight shifts at the movie theatre in West Edmonton Mall. It was when Star Wars was re-released, I was the treasurer so I had to count out all the tills after closing and for Star Wars they were doing all-nighters!
My Step-Dad would come in the morning at 5am to pick me up after my shift, really a great guy, this was before I was old enough to start paying rent for living at home ( at least before he started asking for it). As an adult I think "wow, think of all the gas money he spent!" and the time he took picking me up and dropping me off at work everyday ( I mean, 5am!!!). Without ever asking for anything in return. The things you take for granted when you're a teenager!
I remember waiting outside at 5am, the sun just rising, the prairie heat already up, which was extra nice coming out of an air conditioned buiding. It was likely already 24 degrees out by this time. The city was completely quiet and all you could smell on the air were Lilacs!
I don't know if it's the age and size of the bushes or the fact that the heat is so sweet for the plants but the Lilacs in Edmonton seemed to smell 100 times more potent than the ones here on the West Coast. I remember in this concrete jungle that was our home, that I still wasn't used to at all, this being an absolute "soul soaking up lifes beauty" kind of moment. I think it was the combination of the warm air, the sweet fragrance of the lilacs and the complete silence of a usually bustling place. I closed my eyes and took in huge nose fulls of the fragrance, sun warming up my face and just relaxed, feeling so content with life and the simple things we are often too busy to appreciate. I realized you couldn't smell the Lilacs during the day, their scent was masked by car exhaust and other city things. But in the mornings, these few mornings in particular it seemed to carry through the city somehow. I felt like I was alone in the world in the best way. On top of that the view of the sunrise in it's golden moment was more magnificent than ever. From atop the stairs of the mall I could see forever. Thinking back this should have been a wonderful memory in itself, but the scent of the Lilacs was the one that stuck with me. I will never forget that feeling, it was a little slice of heaven for me in a dull, dry & dusty city.
I will always remember these mornings for the Lilacs and Ernie, and feel so lucky for the life I have lived, as simple as it is, it is always the small things that mean the most.
No comments:
Post a Comment