Early Spring

It’s definitely spring time.  Birds are exploring the fruit trees around my yard for likely-looking nesting branches.  The rains came again last night–but it’s no longer freezing.  The plants which suffered a little frostbite are coming back nicley, and the ornamental plums are covered in pink flowers.  The fruiting plum’s white blossoms opened in this morning’s sun, and the wintered-over chard is yielding up bunches of leaves.  Everything is feeling more alive, including me.

The swirly-looking ball on my mammogram looked like nothing but something normal to the radiologist– I e-mailed my wonderful internist to ask about double-checking, and she e-mailed me back that the radiologists were on top of this and I should not worry.  She said if I wanted, I could come in for a thorough exam– if she detected a lump, we would take it from there.  But this little dose of common sense was enough to shake me out of my cancer paranoia, for now, at least. There is no lump.  I’m sure there is no lump.  It’s all sort of lumpy, but no real lump.  Not really.  So we’ll see. 

I just read Frangipani– a novel by a Tahitian woman, Celestine Vaite. It is a loving, personal, intimate book primarily about the relationship between a mother and daughter, from birth to late teens.  It was just what I needed in a novel for the end of winter/beginning of spring– a woman’s voice.  Kindliness.  Love and warmth, and some good laughs.    Talk of plants, cooking.  I am descended from such a long line of country folks– there is a part of me that needs to be able to sit in my best friend’s kitchen, sipping a hot drink, while we talk and laugh and clean out the refrigerator or make soup or something.  This book was very nourishing and healing for that part of my soul–like a good friend stopping by to hold my hand.  I hope Celestine writes another book, and soon. 

I’m going to try to upload a picture of my little writing space, for the benefit of my dear friend Bloglily, who is also bursting forth, like the spring buds.  Welcome back, girlfriend!  If a picture appears above, you’ll know I cracked the code.