Easter

Camellia blossom

Judy's tulips in the rain

     The crescendo of birdsong fades just as the light is coming up.  The lawn across the cul-de-sac looks like it is frosted, but the rime is just heavy dew on thick, thick grass.   The sun shines on  the andromeda and through the top of the Sequoia.  The camellia outside our window is in full bloom, and grape hyacinths invade the yard in a riot of purple.  The earth smells wonderful.

Me in a choir robe?

     At Easter I joined the church choir to add my voice to the Hallelujah Chorus. We sat facing the congregation.  They were stony-faced during the long sermon about transformation, but when the Hallelujahs  began, they smiled  and sang along. I saw a few tears.

Rob and Hattie

       After church we went to Janet's sister Nancy's for lunch.  Nancy and Rob live in the country, 15 minutes from here.  In addition to teaching and driving truck, they raise a few cattle for freezer beef, and tend a small orchard.  Janet and Robert were there, and their daughter and son-in-law, Kelli and Randy. Janet and Nancy's parents came, and Robert brought his mother in from her memory care unit.  Family friend Beverly and her brother, both in their 90s, entertained us with stories of growing up in North Dakota.  Carol, a former colleague of Nancy's, talked abut her volunteer work and her home maintenance adventures.  Rob's daughter Abby came in  towards the end. The true guests of honor were Nancy's granddaughters, Annie and Hattie, along with their parents.  It is a rare treat for Nancy and Rob to see the girls, and they savored every minute.

Waunita's Easter cake

     I grew up with large family dinners at holidays, always with  singletons and family friends folded in.  Here in Oregon, where Judy and I have no blood relations, I am  grateful to the clans who include us as family in their gatherings.

Orchid from Janet

     On our kitchen windowsill, cuttings of daphne odora from Nancy's front yard are rooting.  The fabulous scent fills the house.  The morning light shines through the orchid on our dining room table, now in its second year of bloom.  Some days it doesn't rain.  It's finally spring.