More than perhaps any other flower, lilacs kindle memories – of childhood, of mothers, of family, and of love. When placed beside a photo of Andy’s mother, they lend our den a sense of warmth and history, bringing to mind happy memories when we were all much younger. The mind mingles in the past based on different sensations – sometimes it’s in the perfume of a flower, sometimes in a certain shade of lavender, and sometimes in the simple slant of sunlight.
Andy recalls a long hedge of lilacs near his home, a mixture of white and typical lilac bushes, alternating light and dark shades – which is similar to my own memories of lilacs – the traditional variety in our yard, and a few more elusive white varieties in the yard next door. As this year’s lilac season shifts from the American versions to the Korean lilacs, just coming into sweet bloom now, the season of spring is at its glory – as much a season of renewal as of remembrance.
