When Lilacs Last In Door Yard Bloomed

"When Lilacs Last In Door Yard Bloomed" is a poem by Walt Whitman written to mark the 1 year anniversary of the death of Abraham Lincoln.....A sad poem about a horrible event.  I've always loved the title....and every year when lilacs were blooming I would think of the poem, not so much the content, or the message, but just about lilacs.  They've always been my favorite flower, and when we moved to our little house, I was so excited that there was an old lilac tree in the yard.   It was something anticipated with so much joy.

 When lilacs last in my door yard bloomed, I was frazzled.  I was planning my wedding.  I'm sure that during the time that the lilacs were blooming, I was a hot mess.  We were days away from the ceremony, and I was trying to bring it all together.  If you know me well, you know that I stay calm and gentle....but then something happens to break the calm....usually a little thing that I have no control of....and I explode.  So, I'm sure that was me 1 year ago.  Me not knowing how it was all going to come together....if the guys were going to have the right color of saddle shoe and if the songs would turn out right.
BUT....the lilacs calmed me....I would walk by them, smell them and think of the dream of my wedding.  My bouquet was lilacs, so I would smell the lilacs, with "Pachabel's Canon in D" playing in my head and remember that I was about to marry the sweetest man ever...the man who put up with my rants and raves....who let me be who I was....and smiled....while he was taking care of his side of the wedding....orchestrating the catering for his own wedding....on a shoe string....as his wife talked about how the table cloths should be....and he would talk about the table cloths we could afford....but gently....lovingly....kindly.
And so we did it....with the help of so many friends....who loved us enough to stand with us....give of their time and talent to help make the "Wedding of the Century".

And so....on the first rainy Sunday of the entire Spring....friends and family.....our best friends...our dog....joined us as we united our lives.  It did not go off without a hitch.

 But it was beautiful

It was heart felt....it was a feast for the eye, the ears and  the soul.

It was....as we advertised in our invitations....a place to "Eat, Drink, and be Married"

 I was blessed to marry the kindest, most passionate, gentlest soul I have come across.  He is probably a dog in human form.  And in the year since that beautiful day he has done nothing but make me happy, care for me, smile with me, cry with me....he has helped dreams come true....and he has loved me happy, sad, tired, and everything in between.  He completes me.

And so....this year...when the lilacs bloomed....I smelled them....I shared them....I even made some Lilac Jelly.  I smelled goat and lilacs in the same breath.

As we plan our 1 year anniversary, I pause to thank each person who stood with us on our beautiful day....and the universe for bringing me together with my split-apart.  We are just blessed.