April’s light is quickly fading over the rabbit patch,  but it does not leave me empty-handed or faint of heart.   I stay on a mission to gather beautiful things-and what a collection I found in April! 

Easter fell early and so did a chilly rain that day. All was not lost because families still gathered around tables laden with a variety of holiday dishes, candles and flowers.  It was a sweet event and I tucked that memory in my heart. I met a new friend that day, and now I have someone else to love.

The jasmine bloomed in April along with the dogwoods. They do not care if one is a gardener or not, either way, they share their blossoms with the world.  It is about impossible to ignore their generosity.  No matter how distracted we are with worldly burdens, the sight of April’s flowers can interrupt gloomy thoughts-and oh how softly they infiltrate the heart. If you have lived for many seasons at your home,  you may see them as reliable friends. In unfamiliar places, flowers are like sweet surprises  bestowed upon you from an unknown person before you.   Whether you care for them or not, flowers and trees, too, will bloom in April.  We ought to all do the same and give as they do.

Kittens were born in April and children found them.  The kittens may as well have been diamonds. No matter your thoughts about cats-you will never convince a child that finding a litter of kittens is a bad thing. 

April is surely a time to build. Consider the birds.  Bluebirds, robins and wrens are all doing the same thing as young humans-finding a place to call “home” . The nesting time is upon us and whether or not we intend to, we all give thought to where we dwell in April. “Spring cleaning” did not get its’ name on a whim.  We clean the house thoroughly as if preparing for an April inspection-and a woman is likely to buy curtains this season. In April, we had the courage to put geraniums on the porch. The grass turned green and all seemed well when it did.

I started having coffee outside this month. Once, I left a cup very briefly and found several wisteria petals in it when I returned.  It was actually lovely to see and I almost drank it anyway.  I learned later, I could have. April’s snow of blossoms is something I always love. This year, a day or two of unusually fierce wind about robbed me of  seeing the air full of floating flowers-so finding a bit of lavender in  my coffee did not offend me, but instead claimed a place in my heart with the rest of  my April memories.

I always read poetry in April. I am not a fan of modern verse.  I prefer the flow and rhythm of Yeats and Longfellow.  I memorize poetry as I have great concerns that this world has gotten too busy to read a poem. I fear that one day , poets will be forgotten altogether-so I tuck poems in my heart too-especially in April.

I went to the fanciest restaurant that I have ever been to this month. Lyla had her first birthday!  I had a birthday too. The woodstove got cold in April, and a kind neighbor tilled the garden with out me needing to ask.  A friend picked strawberries and shared them with me. April is a wonderful month!  I may have even solved a mystery that has been plaguing me a long while. I smelled clover just yesterday-and night before last, I saw a falling star with a red tail!  I have never seen that before. The irish in me thinks it meant something wonderful is going to happen.

What a collection of beautiful things that April offered.  Flowers bloomed and the wind planted more. A holiday was celebrated and kittens were born. The rain fell and so did a star. Birds built nests and sang while they did it. . . and it all happened in April.