Mother's Lilac

When my parents married they moved into a six unit apartment building.

On the first floor

The landlord and his wife were just across the hall

And became friends with my parents.

It was a small apartment.

Living room, dining room, kitchen,

one bedroom and bath

The bedroom was on the back and had

double windows on two sides.

Under one of those sets of windows was a lilac bush.

And old fashioned lilac.

My first night at home (and many others)

was spent in that bedroom

And my first spring, the lilac bloomed

And the fragrance of those lilacs

wafted into the room

My parents spent the first ten years of their marriage

in that apartment

But with the coming of my little brother,

a one bedroom was too small

So they bought a house across the street!

And that spring, a "start" of the lilac

also moved across the street!

And when they moved a few years later

to a house in another area of the city,

a "start" of the lilac came with them.

And when my mother passed away,

I brought a start of the lilac home with me.

And the very next year, the lilac bloomed

One bloom!

It was a sign, I've always believed, that mother was happy

that her lilac had moved to our little town on the prairie.

Last year, was a non-lilac year!

Each of my bushes had one or two blooms.

This year they're covered!

It's definitely a lilac year.

Mother's lilac is an old fashioned light purple variety

But the fragrance is out of this world!

In fact, when I go out the back door, the heady scent of lilacs are almost overpowering.

I always keep Mother's Lilac in a vase all to itself.

It made a darling Easter bouquet today

And underneath is my Grandmother's crochet tablecloth.

It's sort of a family table!

The lilac, this spring, will travel North, where Daughter Sarah

and her Lucy will plant a start.