Lilacs in Bloom

Lilacs and the month of May go hand in hand. My light purple lilac bush has started to bloom. Each year the heady fragrance evokes memories of days gone by. I gently hold the panicle of blooms in my hand as I draw the scent deep within. When I do this, I can detect a slight taste on my tongue of what must be the taste of light purple. There is no other scent like that of a lilac in bloom⎯and one must simply adore the mere presence of any shrub with heart shaped leaves.

As I draw in the intoxicating scent each May, the movie reels of my mind begin to play and I am drawn back to:

• The lilac shrubs in the backyards of my childhood⎯as they would beckon me to leave winter behind to join them outside to play⎯many a mud cake was decorated with these fine flowers.
• The May procession down the center aisle of our church⎯when the statue of mother Mary was crowned with lilacs, and huge bouquets of lilacs filled the church with spring and the scent I so adore.
• The huge light purple lilac shrub growing at one end of the clothesline on the backside of my grandparent’s home⎯the very plant my light purple lilac bush originates from.
• Giving a bouquet of lilacs to my mommy on Mother’s Day⎯which she lovingly accepted even if those were the only flowers growing on the shrub.
• The white double lilac bush currently just waiting to bloom and memories of the home my husband and I once lived in⎯and yes, where my white double lilac originated from.

Such memories remind me of the rhythm of the seasons⎯month-to-month, day-to-day. Scent is such a powerful enchantress. She gives us the surprise of bygone days and brings us back to those moments when we least expect it or just seem to need it. So take a breath, and draw the scent deep within.

Photo courtesy of nightmares in technicolor