A Year of Gratitude – May 17, 2024

I found my gratitude while doing my morning chores today. I walked underneath this old Japanese Flowering Crabapple tree as I headed to the duck house. It is covered with gorgeous dark pink blooms this time of year. They smell as wonderful as they look. It is such a delight.

This tree is special to me. It’s wrapped up in memories of my children playing in its shade when they were little. They spent hours swinging on a swing attached to its lower branches each summer. While I worked in the garden, I could hear their laughter as they played.

In the winter, they built forts and snowmen under this tree. We piled snow as high as we could with the snowblower nearby so that they could sled down their very own snow hill. They would zoom past this spot, laughing with delight as they did.

They’re past the age of swinging from tree swings and sledding on saucers after a snowfall. Now they help me in the garden during the warm months. After a snow, they suit up and use the snow throwers to clear the driveway on their own.

It’s good to have help, to have grown children who can pitch in and help with the work that is needed to keep this old farm going. Yet I hold the memory of those little kids close in my heart. I carry those memories in my pocket because they are the best sort of memories, the memories of pure joy.

I’m grateful not just for the beauty of this tree which certainly brightened my day, but for the memories that it brought about for me this morning. These bright blooms and its sweet scent helped to bring a smile to my face and joy to my heart.

This post is part of our A Year of Gratitude Series. You can find the introduction, inspiration, and entire year’s gratitude’s posts here.