Spring is finally well underway here in the city. Although today it’s cool and rainy, it has been sunny and warm for the past couple of weeks. This has always been my favorite season because of the crisp air and gorgeous landscape that covers Manhattan.
I’ve been trying to get out of the apartment as much as I can (easier said than done with three kids) so that we can enjoy the fresh air. It’s nice to be able to leave the apartment without taking 20 minutes to get all three kids and myself bundled up for frigid temperatures.
During the week, most of our time outside is spent taking Harlan to and from school. We are really lucky to have a very pretty walk down Park Avenue on our way to school. Many of the buildings have tulips blooming in an array of gorgeous colors.
A couple of weeks ago as the temperatures started to warm up and the flowers began to bloom, I noticed Avery observing them. She would always point them out on our walks to school and ask me to stop so that she could take a look. Once the colors finally started to show on the flowers, her face lit up with excitement.
She’s just started to learn all of her colors, so it was pure joy when she could point them out one by one to tell me what color they were. On our walks home from school she asks me to stop at every single flower bed that we see so that she can take a second to enjoy them. There are probably 20 flower beds from our apartment to school, so you can imagine how much time it takes to get home each afternoon.
As she stops at each flower she bends over careful not to touch them and takes a deep breath in so that she can smell their aroma. I have no idea where she’s learned it from, but I love watching her do it. After taking in the smell she says to me, “Flowers are my faaaaavorite.”
And she’s right. Flowers bring this little girl pure joy. She’s lucky that nearly every bodega on the corner sells flowers. So even if we don’t happen to walk by the budding blooms in the ground, we are bound to find some that she can stop to smell no matter where we are going. So often, as with most New Yorkers, I am rushing to get from point A to point B in the fastest time possible. I feel like I am always rushing. It’s either because I am late to get everyone out the door or because one of the three are throwing a tantrum. It wasn’t until Avery started making me stop to smell the flowers that I realized I need to slow down. And not just on the streets of New York City, but in life.
So next time I’m rushing to get somewhere or through something, I’ll remember what little A taught me. Just stop and smell the flowers.
