Spring Has Sprung

Spring has sprung here in Indiana...all the way around. And what I mean by that is that yesterday I picked my way through thick, green, freshly-cut grass to take pictures of blossoming trees against a stunning blue sky, and then last night, we were under a tornado watch and storms lit up the skies.

Yes, that is spring in Indiana.

Some of you saw this on Facebook yesterday, so I apologize for the repeat but Nita's tree burst into bloom yesterday!

I posted about it at length last summer (and you can read that here) but after Ryan's mom died, our small group gave us a gift card to a local nursery, and we were able to pick out a tree to plant in Nita's honor. Ryan chose a weeping cherry, because he felt it was a fitting tribute to her life. She loved a good, cleansing cry, and she loved pink. They promised us it would blossom pink!

We purchased the tree in the summer, when the leaves were full and green, so we have been waiting and waiting to see what the blossoms would look like! I admit to being quite relieved to see the tiniest buds poking out from branches a few days ago. Whew! The tree had survived the winter!

And when Ryan left for work yesterday, I peeked out into the yard and saw full blooms dotting the branches. To be fair, not all of them have arrived, but enough had unfurled that I could do a proper photo shoot!

Nita would have loved this tree so very much. It makes me smile to see it, knowing how much it pays tribute to her memory.

Ryan and I also paused to be grateful again that she's not fighting this virus. Her lungs were nothing but compromised, and she had every kind of immunity compromise possible. I told Ryan that God knew. He absolutely knew. Our goodbye to her was hard, but we were able to say goodbye. We still hurt for those who can't do that for loved ones right now.

By the time Ryan got home from work last night, we'd started to see a few full blossoms on the pear tree, too!!

Many more to come! (Provided, of course, that they hung on through the storm last night!)

We're still locked down, but green grass, sunny skies, and blossoming trees bring hope to the soul!