Photo Journal: Spring 2022

Spring unfolded like a symphony, each short movement purposeful on its own, but richer within an ensemble. Before my eyes, light green buds were sprinkled liberally across bare branches, alongside tufts of white cherry blossoms and pink magnolias achingly reminiscent of Cornell’s campus and my apartments on Beacon Street. As their petals showered the sidewalks, vibrant hydrangeas, the colors of summer, overtook neighboring bushes, and the world became green, so green, once again. 

Days were long but the season was short, filled with changes in scenery and pace of life. After a period of ongoing-ness, spring’s tempo felt unfamiliar. While submerged in a new job and infant formula recall, outside activities and life events delivered new decisions and distractions to face, all of it testing and strengthening the tenacity of hope. Remarkably, the velocity of spring’s events was accompanied by the raw, head-turning beauty of nature waking from hibernation. I couldn’t help but stop. Admire. Breathe. Wherever I looked. 

Reflections

My mom has always loved fresh flowers, either cut and displayed in a vase on our kitchen counter or blooming in full outside. Since we moved last summer, we've started a biweekly tradition of dividing a bouquet across multiple mini vases throughout the house. Usually, our friend, who's a florist, spoils us with more flowers, always beautifully arranged. As of late, my mom has been adding to her indoor flowers with garden center finds. The impetus was a stop (or two) at Hoover's Farm Market & Greenhouses during our trip to Lancaster. She squeezed flowers and plants into the car trunk and hasn't stopped since. Conveniently, there's a greenhouse located right by her office. 

Every night, when my dad and I come home to discover yet another new row of daffodils replacing the recently withered tulips, we exchange looks of resignation. Nothing can stop our plant lady, not even the unpredictable spring weather. Watching her protectively and frantically drag her planters and pots inside, in anticipation of a windy night or heavy downpour, has led me to wonder: is it worth it? 

Is it worth tending to something when beauty is fleeting? When efforts seem futile? When the odds against it surviving are so much higher? More seriously, these very questions have also come up in the light of multiple deaths and an ICU admission. 

The external events around me were not so different nine years ago when the word “coma” entered our family vocabulary. And though my faith and willingness to show up continue to be tried, I’ve noticed shifts in my inner barometer thanks to the people and stories who have rehabilitated me since: the tenacity of Ukranians, parents who drive across state lines just to find the formula their infant needs to survive, family members who wholeheartedly step in and alter their entire lives by caring for their loved ones, my patients, with a debilitating diagnosis. As wars rage and wildfires burn, the purity of preschoolers, the tenderness of asylum seekers, the familiarity of train conductors-turned-friends, and the depth of lasting friendships ground me in the hopeful here.

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Lately:

• I wrote short pieces about Global Grace Farms and Global Grace Cafe over on Food for Thought. 
• Read my recipe story (but more importantly, see Michael Piazza's incredible photo) over on Edible Boston! 
• Golgatha has been my most played song this season. 
• This sing-off of Wie Schön Du Bist from The Voice Kids. You don't have to know any German to be wowed. The judges' reactions say it all. 
• Speaking of The Voice Kids, I've been inspired by Alvaro Soler, who speaks Catalan, Spanish, German, Italian, French, and Japanese. Did I miss anything? Goals. 
• This Spanish cover of Chasing Cars from The Voice Germany. So! Good!
• Dorie Greenspan's Maple Miso Loaf has graced my kitchen twice this season. Again - So! Good!
• Wesley Verhoeve, one of my favorite photographers, tested Kodak Gold 200 film on a medium format camera and filmed his shoot. 
• A good 60-70% of my patients and their families speak exclusively Spanish, and some days, it takes a hot second to get my brain to think in Spanish. Spring Spanish has been a great resource to jump start my thinking in the morning, expand my conversational vocabulary, and learn more country-specific slang words. See more language learning recommendations under Speak.