Canada in Bloom

Lilacs, they're everywhere

Bleeding hearts and lilies of the valley

Ever since I arrived in the North East, I have been surrounded by lilacs in bloom, lilies of the valley and bleeding hearts, all the flowers of my childhood that I have missed. As I was driving from the Laurentians to Toronto I passed fields of dandelion puffs, that made the fields look misty and huge hedges and gigantic bushes of lilacs. It is so very green here, as I look out the window of the apartment that I am staying at, all I see is the tops of trees. In the winter, you can see all the houses, but now, just trees.

Being back in Toronto, the city of my high school years, I have gotten to re-visit teen memories. My old house, my high school, my old neighborhood. I keep driving by streets and thinking "I had a friend, a boy friend, a cousin, who lived on this street", but sometimes I can't remember who exactly. Today, my youngest brother came to see me, and we went out to lunch, then went to visit my parents at the Mount Hope Cemetery. We stopped and got flowers and put them on their graves. I must admit to feeling a little sad at living so far away from them. Tomorrow I am having lunch with one of the dearest persons in my life, my godfather. Donley Mogan has been a big part of my life. When my father died, I was 21, Donley became my go-to person, and has been there for me through my divorce and other ups and downs that came my way.