The Lilac - First emotions of love.. I BELIEVE :)
Two years ago this photo was taken. As you can see from the blooms its a purple lilac. April 2006 was the very first time since it was planted that it bloomed. To be honest at the time it was planted I had no idea of what type of bush it even was.
Maybe a bit of background is needed here, maybe not..well here it is anyway, read or skip down a bit ;) Gretchen was very close to her grandparents... they had lived since they were married back in the 1920's in a small farmhouse that her grandfather built. And as a child Gretchen spent a lot of time with them , especially in the summer months as her grandparents had a working farm and a produce stand that they ran. So from the time the grandkids could contribute a bit, they were put to work picking vegetables or gathering eggs from the hen house. Well needless to say Gretchen spent a lot of time with them. Her Grandfather passed away in the early 1980's, not long after we were married, so I never really got to know him, and her grandmother passed away in 1999. Gretchen's dad being the only boy was the one who got the homestead. Well his health was going down and he got to the point he couldn't do the upkeep on the place, or even take care of the property so he was more or less forced to sell it. Of course Gretchen being the sensitive soul she was took it hard as she had really grown up there. And even my own kids had spent a bit of time there too, its where my daughters first got behind the wheel of a car to practice driving up and down the lane and around the filed in front of the house. lots of memories there, even for me. So anyway just before he sold it we went one weekend to get a few of the plants and flowers that were abundantly planted there over the years by her grandmother. I think for two or three days we dug and hauled these things back home. I would ask Gretchen what kind of plant or bush it was we were diggin, and she didnt have a clue! lol All she knew was she wanted some to remind her of her grandmother and have something of her grandmother's in the yard! Over the next couple of years some of the things made it and some just didn't survive the transplanting as a lot of them were wild naturalized ones I think, Anyway two of these held on and grew, but they never did bloom at all while she was alive. but I know now she has seen them bloom and also seen something else even greater bloom, Love. Now here is where it all just sort of comes together in a way I cant really explain so well. It was about this time I had just gotten to the point where i was thinking I didnt want to be alone anymore and i knew there was still love in me to give. Now I had been toying with the idea of dating again for the previous half year or so prior to this time and had been on some online sites and just getting used to the idea I think was most of it. Well you all know the story more or less of me being instantly smitten when this one Beautiful Brit asked me one day if i would like to write sometime! From the mosment i read the first words from her I knew we were meant for each other, and that day I fell in love, whetehr I admitted it to myself or not, I felt that thunder like the hand of God had laid on me! :) and I just knew it... well Easter that year was on the 16th of April (no I didnt remember it, I looked it up.. lol) I had met Alsion on April 5th.. and after a couple of weeks of 'talking' by mail i wanted to say hi to her, so I made a short video doing just that saying Hi and Happy Easter. I was outside in the yard making the vid and there were several takes from different spots in the yard. Oh you know I am not sure now the exact day that bush first bllomed, of course its a gradual thing to begin with, and I think it may ahve stared getting ready to bllom a couple of weeks before I met Alison so I cant say for sure now the actual day I realized it was going to finally have flowers, well its not imprtant, that bit of which day I realized it, only that I remember feeling happy about it and was wondering if Gretchen had something to do with it, blooming I mean... well the whole idea made me happy and I think it was from the day I did the video that it came to me to look them up online to see if I could identify what bush it was.. well I found out easy enough with it blooming now.. but what I read about the lilac and its flower meaning just blew me away! Oh I cant rememebr the site I was on then I first read it, but they are all similar I think,
from Teleflora.com The story of lilac, according to Greek mythology, begins with a beautiful nymph named Syringa (lilac’s botanical name). Captivated by her beauty, Pan, the god of the forests and fields, chased Syringa through the forest. Frightened by Pan’s affections, Syringa escaped him by turning herself into an aromatic bush – the flower we now refer to as lilac.
The 8th wedding anniversary flower and the state flower of New Hampshire (symbolizing the hardy character of the Granite State’s citizens), lilacs are frequently considered a harbinger of spring, with the time of their bloom signaling whether spring will be early or late. In the language of flowers, purple lilacs symbolize the first emotions of love, while white lilacs represent youthful innocence.
The first emotions of Love! Well there it was like another bolt of lightening from the sky hitting me! If ever there was a sign sent to me, that was it! Oh some may say its just coincidence, but to me it was our Angels saying , here is the One for you :) and I have never doubted it and only believe it stronger to this day. Oh I'm not good enough with words to convey the emotion I felt... no.. the emotion I
still feel to this day. Well the lilacs are in bloom once more and I am more in love than ever before! I love you baby! XX I DO! <3
:)
Our lives are all filled with highs and lows and we mark our journey through life by them. I can in all honesty say I have never been overcome by such joyful emotion as I was when I first got the news. And the timing really was coming at a point that some good news was needed. We both have struggeled trying to keep from getting down about it taking so long and so many hoops to jump through to just simply be together and share a love sent from heaven, as well as the worry with my mom being in the hospital ICU in serious but stable condition. 
