Cherry Blossoms

The city where I work has one of the largest collection of cherry blossom trees in the US outside of Washington D.C. For a few weeks every spring there's this riotous display of every shade of pink, an oasis of beauty in the middle of a sprawling urban wasteland. As magnificent as it is, it is a brief as a proverbial shooting star. Within days the petals float to the ground and the park sheds it's glorious plumage for another year. Terribly symbolic for that whole circle of life thing. ;)

While I was away, I had a very vivid dream. Someone handed me my father's wallet, referring to him in the past tense. A large billfold, I knew it was his from the little packet of photos in it. The first was a school photo of mine from kindergarten. It's a very ... distinct picture, for some reason my mother felt that bowl bangs and a head full of ringlets would be just the thing. Anyway, each of the photos were ones I knew of and have seen before. Until the last one. The colors in it were exceptionally bright, and as I looked at it it became larger, until I was holding at least an 8x10 in my hand.

It was a cherry blossom tree in full bloom on a gorgeous sunny day. Next to the tree stood my mother as she is now. She was holding my son in her arms, and had the most beautiful look on her face -- I cannot even describe the expression. As I was studying it, the picture animated. A gust of wind kicked up and all those beautiful petals began to fall, a shower of pink and white swirling around my mother and my son. It was so incredibly poignant that I woke up sobbing. As Chris pointed out, there's not much interpretation needed for it, but it has stuck with me for days.

Last night while I was working on an event, an old friend contacted me. He told me that one of my mentors had died yesterday morning after her very long fight with lung cancer. MW was an amazing woman, tough as nails with a sincere laugh and great sense of humor. Straightforward, she didn't hold back what she was thinking. Nor did she care if it made you angry, so long as you understood the point. She was instrumental in my aspiring to be a strong instructor and animated speaker. She never failed to give feedback for good or for ill, and always let you know that she was on your side.

She was beautiful, and all too brief.