Honeysuckle Kisses and Dandelion Wishes

Springtime in South Carolina can't be beat...everything is beautiful and green and fresh and aromatic. The world bursts with life and renewal and anticipation for things to come... baby birds to learn to fly out of their nests... water to warm up enough to swim in... tomatoes on the vines to grow and redden... flowers in the planters to fill up their homes in the soil.

The kids are learning the special offerings of the spring here, too. Bugs and lizards are at their disposal to chase and capture and study. Playing in the sprinkler and working in the garden are mainstays of everyday living. Life is blossoming and growing all around them, and they mirror that life, growing and blossoming and absorbing their world. And they know that soon, very soon, they'll get to do cannonballs into the pool and feel the fish nibble at their toes in the lake. Watermelon will soon be covering their "outdoors dirty" little faces and hands.

We try to be outside as much as possible, so lunch today was a picnic at Saluda Shoals Park. Afterwards, the kids rode their bicycles down the path by the river. Along the way, we made sure to stop and smell the roses honeysuckles and take some pictures. I always love going to this park by the river. It reminds me of my early childhood growing up in Woodwinds, which was a stone's throw from the banks of the Saluda.

Even when we weren't supposed to go down to the river, my brothers and I would do it anyways. Once, when I snuck down with a friend to lay out on the rocks and jump in the water, a leech latched onto my leg. Being the hypochondriac, God-fearing religiously paranoid child that I was, I immediately thought that the big guy in the sky was trying to kill me (that's right, people, with a leech) for disobeying my parents. After the fisherman we met burned it off, I swore I'd never lie again... after we finished tanning our behinds.

Of course, we went back to the river again. And sometimes without the parents. Its promise for time well spent was too much of a pull. We'd stop and suck the sweet out of the honeysuckles and search for fool's gold in the river. We'd skip stones and swing on the vines. It was a perfect spot to play growing up. And, now, it's a perfect spot to take my kids to play.  

So, lunch today was a good one. It was a visit to the past and an appreciation for the present. I got to hear my kids' laughter trail through the trees and see the excitement on their faces when the beavers swam past. I got to see them make wishes on dandelions (Summit's was, "I wish I could be a dinosaur. ROAR!) and I remembered when I believed that that's how wishes come true. I got to see my babies grow and blossom and absorb the world around them... see their sweaty, red faces light up with hope and excitement and happiness and peace and contentment. I am so thankful for this day and for so many of the ones that have passed.