Dahlias

Have I mentioned that I love dahlias? When we got married, we couldn't quite figure out exactly what we wanted for the centerpieces, but our lovely florist, Shelly Bagdasian  came up with adding some beautiful bright pink dahlias. They, along with our little flower girl, Maddox, stole the show! They are just so lush and vibrant, but delicate at the same time.

It wasn't so long after we got married that we bought our house and I finally got the opportunity to garden. Now, I wouldn't exactly say I have a green thumb...side note, I just accidentally typed "grumb" and I think I might be onto a cool new word. Anyway. I wouldn't exactly say I have a grumb, but I do love african violets which are lovely, albeit finicky house plants. Another side note:  my Mother in law takes beautiful care of them as well. But I digress.

Happily, we have a very, very sunny yard. So, on an impulse, I bought some dahlia bulbs at Home Depot, and literally just stuck them in the ground. Then, lo and behold...they grew! And grew, and grew. And even better, they are this beautiful, purple-pink color that contrasts perfectly with the lovely orange pumpkins in our garden.

My Dad, who has the greenest thumb of anyone out there, spends a lot of time working in the garden. When I was younger, I don't think I understood it, but I remember him telling me that there was just "something nice about growing things." When the dahlias I stuck in the ground grew so beautifully, I think I finally understood what he meant. I feel proud of these flowers in the same way that I feel proud of V. There are so many horrifying news stories out there, and couple that with the despair I fairly often encounter at work, it is truly wonderful to be able to put bulbs in the ground and see something grow. It's like a bit of peace and wonder that exists right outside our door.

Perhaps I'm just writing all this so I have an excuse to share photos of these beautiful flowers, Here they are!

An Aunt Again!

My sister is expecting and I just couldn't be happier!

We will get to meet little Baby L in March, which seems like such a long time to wait! But if her pregnancy is anything like mine was, it will just fly by. I am so excited for V to have a little cousin! My sister and her husband have not had an easy journey into pregnancy by any means, and truly, I just cannot think of any two people better suited to be parents than they are. I like to think that God heard their prayers, along with the prayers of every member of my family. That is, of course, in addition to their incredible hard work and commitment to making it happen.

J and I have talked a lot about how many children we want, and about how far apart to space them. For a number of reasons, we decided that it would be wise to allow 3 years between our children. Lately though, even with all the busy-ness of life, I can't seem to stop thinking about having a second child. My husband and I watched an adorable movie on Netflix (What to Expect When You're Expecting) and it was so sweet we both decided we better not watch it again until we were ready to start trying. These years, full of pregnancies, babies, and young children, are years I simply want to savor, and one day look back upon with such fondness. This is to say, I think, that even though I will be 32 in November, we are not in a rush.

There's a poem that I think perfectly sums up how I feel right now:

The Happiest Day
It was early May, I think
a moment of lilac or dogwood
when so many promises are made
it hardly matters if a few are broken.
My mother and father still hovered
in the background, part of the scenery
like the houses I had grown up in,
and if they would be torn down later
that was something I knew
but didn't believe. Our children were asleep
or playing, the youngest as new
as the new smell of the lilacs,
and how could I have guessed
their roots were shallow
and would be easily transplanted.
I didn't even guess that I was happy.
The small irritations that are like salt
on melon were what I dwelt on,
though in truth they simply
made the fruit taste sweeter.
So we sat on the porch
in the cool morning, sipping
hot coffee. Behind the news of the day--
strikes and small wars, a fire somewhere--
I could see the top of your dark head
and thought not of public conflagrations
but of how it would feel on my bare shoulder.
If someone could stop the camera then...
if someone could only stop the camera
and ask me: are you happy?
perhaps I would have noticed
how the morning shone in the reflected
color of lilac. Yes, I might have said
and offered a steaming cup of coffee. 
~Linda Pastan 

So again I will challenge myself: stop the camera. Ask - are you happy? I am. I hope you are too.