It’s spring! Well, kind of. Not yet. It was, but it’s not
again, but it’s starting to be. Tennessee weather is a fickle thing. 70 in
February, 30 in April. The daffodils bloom, and two days later it snows. The
redbuds poke out on a warm afternoon only to be covered in frost that night.
You find yourself always dressed for the wrong season. The little winters of
spring pop in and out, keeping you guessing. The little winters take on the
names of what’s in bloom—what risks suffering, when a spring cold snap hits:
redbud, dogwood, locust, blackberry.
The dogwoods are starting to bloom now. I’ve been waiting
for months. With a dogwood in the front yard of my new house, I was eager to
see its flowers. I love dogwood flowers. They always seem to bloom around (yet
never on) Easter. Which is fitting, as they are the perfect Easter flower.
The four petals form a cross. At the center sits a crown of
thorns. The whiteness symbolizes purity while the spots of red represent
Christ’s wounds. When I see the blooms, I always think of Christ and Easter.
With the dogwoods fighting to bloom all over town today, even through the snow
flurries, I’m reminded that even if it doesn’t always feel like it, it’s still
Easter. Alleluia.
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