Monday, June 1, 2009

the first lily and fireflies


The first lily bloomed in our yard today. I've been waiting for days. Every day I would think, "Today's the day..." but that bud just wouldn't burst open. Kind of like waiting to go into labor.

About a week and a half before Tavish was born, every night before bed my husband would say, "Maybe tonight's the night..." The night he was born, I was putting on my nightgown, my husband said his thing, and I said in a huff, "No, tonight is NOT the night. It will NEVER be the night. Apparently, I'm never having this baby." I was one day past my due date. And, as it turns out, IN LABOR; I just didn't know it (Don't ask--that's a post for another day). Oh me of little faith.

So this lily...MAN, I thought it would NEVER bloom. But she did! And isn't she glorious?

So while I admired and photographed our first lily as the sun was going down on a perfectly perfect evening, Caleb dug for worms the garden next to me. It would have been nice if the mosquitos hadn't been flying up my pajama pants and biting me to death the whole time. And I could have done without a shovel-full of dirt flung in my hair. But all in all, what an exquisite evening. Just as we were gearing up to go inside for "night-nights", the fireflies came out. Just a few; the first of the season.

Caleb can't say "firefly" for some reason. He can say "fire" and he can say "fly," but for the love of God he can't put the two together, bless his little fat heart. "Ooooh, hiiii, ladybuuug!" he would say when he caught one. "Firefly," I'd say. "Ooooh, hiiii, butterfly," he'd say. "Firefly," I'd say. "Butterfly," he'd say. Oh well. We sure did have a grand ol' time watching those ladybugs and butterflies light up. And all of them survived. Caleb has the gentlest touch sometimes.

I can't decide which was my favotite: the long-awaited bloom of the lily or the surprise of fireflies. Actually, neither. My favorite was my boy, my firstborn, my long-awaited surprise running about in the twilight with the firelies.