Spring has Sprung

A week and a half ago, I was out in the yard and discovered, much to my surprise and delight, that one of my daffodils had decided to make an early appearance. Normally, daffodil bulbs don't bloom until February or March, so I was quite intrigued by the December arrival. When my friend Sue came over that week, I made her come out in the yard to see the daffodil. She commented that it was a sign of hope from the Universe. I said, "Are you sure the Universe isn't trying to tell me that it's ok to be impatient?" We had a good laugh about that, as I have been known to be a bit impatient and I liked the idea that the daffodil might be encouraging that particular trait of mine.

A week later, I noticed a second daffodil had arrived. Having ONE was a big enough surprise, but to have TWO daffodils make an early appearance made me think the Universe was trying to get my attention. I looked up the meaning of daffodils and found that they are a sign of new beginnings, rebirth and hope. They can also be a sign of faith, honesty, truth and forgiveness. I found another website that says they are the symbol of unrequited love and "you're the only one for me." I wondered what these daffodils were trying to tell me, as there were so many possibilities.

Today, on Christmas day, a THIRD daffodil sprung up. I was stunned. I have had daffodil bulbs in my yard for fifteen years and I have never had one come up in December, let alone three. I think someone is definitely trying to get a message to me, although I am not entirely sure what the message is.

The interesting thing is, my admiration of daffodils has never been a casual thing. I have been fascinated with them since I was a little girl. They were my favorite flower, from as far back as I can remember. I don't know why, I was just crazy about them. When my parents let me pick out wallpaper for my childhood bedroom, I picked out daffodil wallpaper and I even had a bright yellow comforter and canopy cover to match. You could say I was obsessed with daffodils and I always have been. Even today, while my tastes have moved away from garish wallpaper, I do still have a variety of daffodil pictures adorning my walls.

The two things I remember most from my childhood were my intense love of daffodils and german shepherds. It was as if I was born having an unquenchable thirst for both, yet all my yearning for them never panned out. Throughout my childhood, we never had daffodils in our yard (But I remember getting in big trouble once for picking some out of someone else's yard on the way home from school). And while I begged and begged for a german shepherd, my parent's response was always, "You can have one, when you have your own house."

Fifteen years ago when I bought my house, the first thing I did was plant a bunch of daffodil bulbs. Two months later, I saw Lucky on the news and knew she was supposed to be mine. A month later, I won the lottery at the SPCA and finally had the german shepherd I had always wanted.

A couple months after that, the daffodil bulbs I had planted in October finally bloomed and for the first time in my life, I had my own daffodils. It was as if my life was complete at that moment . . . my childhood dreams had been realized . . . I finally had a german shepherd and I had daffodils to boot! Unfortunately for me, Lucky had a different kind of interest in the daffodils. As soon as they bloomed, I would catch her with her mouth closed tightly over one of the daffodils in the yard. When I would say, "What are you doing?" she would freeze and pretend she didn't know I was talking to her. After a minute of being "frozen" she would gently remove her mouth from the daffodil, leaving it slobbery but not totally ruined. I always had to supervise her in the yard, reminding her to leave the daffodils alone. I don't know if she was jealous of the attention they got from me or what, but she was definitely obsessed with the daffodils, although not in the same way I was.

So, I find it extra curious that these three daffodils would show up in December this year, given that they have always held a special place in my heart, as did Lucky. Maybe it's Lucky letting me know she's still around. Even though the weather has been cold and wet, I have found myself spending a lot more time in the yard and it is hard not to smile when I see them. While I am not entirely sure what the message is that I am supposed to be getting from their early arrival, they have brought me a lot of joy the last week and a half. I suppose for tonight, that is enough of a message.