I guess it is safe to start writing again, now that I am completely sure that Spring is here. It was touch and go there for a few weeks. This year, one of the flowers I have really enjoyed seeing bloom around my neighborhood has been the Magnolia. This seems ironic to me as Magnolia are associated with the South (the Magnolia is the state flower of Louisiana and Mississippi) and I live in Washington State, which is one of the most un-Southern places I have experienced in my life.

When I was a kid growing up in the South, Magnolia were everywhere at this time of the year. They helped me to get through a particularly rough year of middle school. No matter what, I could look at them and feel better because they were so beautiful and strong. Even though life was not perfect back then, it was much simpler back then, even before I figure in all of the chaos brought about by the pandemic and all of the adjustments I have had to make in its aftermath. I am still hopeful, though, just like the kid I was then, that everything will be alright.