Spring Cheer Unleashed
Of all the flowers in the world, daffodils mean spring to me.
Their proud stems concealing conical petals are some of the first to poke through the frigid ground after a long hibernation. When the weather still carries a chilly edge, when the sun shines but doesn’t yet warm completely, daffodils serve up an effervescent eyeful. Bright yellow blooms perched atop sturdy emerald stems assert themselves with a plucky defiance against a lingering winter. They’re spring’s earliest gift, a clarion signal that an easier season is close at hand.
It’s also the flower that’s inextricably linked with my childhood, my sister, and our sweet mom. I remember the three of us planting the first daffodils in the front yard when I was little, and from then on, there were always daffodils—in the backyard, in the front yard, near the driveway, in pockets here and there. Daffodils everywhere! Every spring, we delighted in watching them muscle through the cold Cleveland ground.
My mom would keep a cut bouquet on the kitchen island. There were so many flowers in the yard, she was always bringing daffodils to someone. Toward the end of her life, when we moved to Gates Mills to be near her, my mom lovingly brought us daffodils from her yard in the prettiest vase. That last spring we spent together, my mom bringing me those cheerful daffodils was a priceless gift.
Years earlier, my mom, sister, and I had taken a trip to London. Seeing wide swaths of daffodils in the parks, thousands of flowers in bloom, felt magical. These flowers had always been precious to us. They were ours, the ones that had threaded themselves throughout our lives, ushering in every spring, and here they were greeting us in a new city with their blossoms. Daffodils always connected us…they still do.
And now, it’s another spring. The air remains stubbornly cold in the mornings. The wind cuts sharp. The sun is trying to warm the atmosphere, the earth, and so many of us who, quite honestly, are carrying an unfathomable chill in our bones. Finding moments of cheer, leaning into those glimmers of happy to steady ourselves in this most unsteady of times…I think this is important, even if it feels off. Even if it feels truly incongruous with the moment at hand.
In their own inimitable way, daffodils help. Nature can be a balm when little else comforts. A bright yellow blossom that elicits a smile, even if it’s just a heartbeat where you feel infused with hope…that helps.
I really do think it helps.
