April is the cruelest
month, breeding lilacs out of the dead land...” -T.S. Eliot
“Only to smash them flat
with hail...”-S.A. Sume, not at all bitter. Probably.
April is the month
of renewal—Easter, rebirth, tender green grass, brightly colored eggs, fuzzy
baby chicks—you know the drill. If you’ve spent more than two Aprils in the
Pacific North We(s)t, you know that any spring celebration is bound to get
rained on. And it just wouldn’t be Easter without the egg hunt being
interrupted by a sudden squall of what one of my twins once referred to as
“snow Skittles.”
Sun, rain, hail,
repeat-- April is a wee bit volatile. March has the reputation for multiple
personalities-- lion vs. lamb--but April can hold her own when it comes to
spontaneous mood swings. As a child, I remember many an Easter afternoon, my
sister and I, trying to time our egg hunting forays in between cloudbursts.
More than once my poor mother gave up on Mother Nature’s cruel vagaries and
allowed us to hide our REAL EGG Easter eggs in the house---something I do not
recommend. Hiding 12 eggs while only finding 11 happened more than once at our
house. It’s never good to find that pesky 12th egg DAYS after the
fact...
Last fall I planted
a lovely combo of purple crocus, double-ruffled salmon and cream-colored
daffodil, and perfect aubergine tulips. This spring I find myself rushing out
between showers to gently shake the rain from the heavy-headed daffodils and
try to stand them upright amongst the better-postured tulips. So far, my
efforts have been successful, but I know it’s only a matter of time until one
of my heavy-headed beauties succumbs, surrendering to the pulse of rain and
landing face down in the mud.
When that happens,
I will sigh, and trudge out to rescue her and her broken stem. I’ll bring her
in, shower her quickly in the flow of the kitchen sink faucet, and place her in
a single vase—beautiful, perhaps a bitty gritty, but undaunted.
No matter what your
April weather brings, may you remain undaunted as well. Happy Easter!
 |
| Me, Easter 1964 |
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