Lilacs

I had an opportunity this past week to be where the lilacs are in full bloom. I loved it. The bushes were just gorging with the fragrant flowers and I was so tempted to push my face into the blooms and just take in the lovely smells. I have always loved lilacs. There used to be a long row of these bushes lining the road across the narrow street from the church I went to as a child. Each Sunday in early Spring I would check the bushes to see if they were about to bloom. Then one Sunday they just seemed to miraculously appear. Just for me. I would run over there after Sunday School and push my face right into the bushes and breathe deeply. I couldn't get enough of the sweet fragrance. I would always take home a small branch and keep it in my room. I would take a sniff several times during the day and I would hold it in my little hand as I drifted off to sleep. Pure contentment. A few years later the highway department was changing the road by the church and to my horror cut down all the lilac bushes. I was so sad. There were lilac bushes all over the place but for some reason I was always drawn to the bushes alongside the church road. It's a good memory. And rekindled this week by a familiar fragrance. Lilacs.