Anyone who knows me well knows that my soul sings when I’m home in the Green Mountains of Vermont. I savor crisp Fall days and snow days playing with my little guy outside.
I even love mud season – a pre-Spring season as unique as our maple syrup and cheese.
It was just before the snow started to melt in March when my little guy looked at me one day and said, “Where are all the flowers? I miss the flowers.” I knew just what he meant!
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I’m a Vermont girl through and through, but there is something so soulful about springtime in the South.
One of my favorite bands, The Indigo Girls, captures it perfectly in Southland in the Springtime. (Click the link to enjoy their voices!)
And there's something bout the Southland in the springtime Where the waters flow with confidence and reason Though I miss her when I'm gone it won't ever be too long 'Til I'm home again to spend my favorite season
I’ve lived in the South three times as an adult – in Louisiana, Virginia and Georgia. Each place is magical as the blooms burst onto the scene, come Spring, like Mother Nature’s most beautiful fireworks display.
Just like the 4th of July sky, our yard in Georgia was filled with red, white and blue. Those blooms captured my little guy’s eye, and now, I realize, his soul.
He spent his first Spring there when he was 3-years-old. He would pick a flower, walk over, hand it to me and say those 7 magical words that planted a new seed in my soul …
… “I love you because I love you.”
Even at that young age, it was innate in him to cherish those flowers and share them with me.
The only plant I have ever been able to keep alive is a Peace Lilly. And, if you know anything about Peace Lillies, they are THE most forgiving plant on Earth. You can practically kill them, leaves drooping over your pot, and, if you give it water, the plant comes back to life!
Despite my less than green thumb, when my sweet little guy asked that question in desperation, “Where are all the flowers?”, I knew what I had to do.
I went to the grocery store the next day and asked the plant lady to recommend a flowering plant that I was least likely to kill. I left with two kinds and my little guy lit up when he saw those pink flowers.
His soul was fed!
Today, we have FIVE living plants in our home. He picked out the latest addition – the biggest indoor “tree” they had at Lowe’s. I felt overwhelmed when I got it home and I had no idea where to put it. I stuck it between the couch and another sitting area.
This morning when he saw it, he said, with such joy in his voice, “That looks fancy!”
He feeds my soul more than anyone else in the world – his lovingkindness, his appreciation for nature’s beauty and the way he shares it with me (what is more giving than someone loving you just because they love you?)
He planted a seed in my soul back in Georgia and I’m so thankful to help nurture his soul here in Vermont!
As we transition through the changing season, I pray that you nurture your soul with the things that bring beauty to your life.
Truly,
Julie
Your. Soulful. Spaces.
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