A tradition of tulips
Every spring break I have a tradition of packing up my girls and heading for the Skagit Valley and taking in all its glory. Flowers, flowers, and more flowers. Lots of people too, and there was that one year they walked just out of my sight and legitimately got stuck in a spectacular mud bog. Rescued by strangers, a lost boot, and all. Maybe not my winningest mom moment, but one we will never forget.
We get muddy. We smell flowers. We take in all the colors and the endless rows. They jump in puddles while I watch and contemplate the looming laundry situation coming my way. We breathe the fresh air and sometimes ride in a tractor. We walk and walk and walk and walk. We picnic and lay in the grass.
Afterwards, we peel off the boots and socks and muddy layers and put away the umbrellas and change into something comfy. We stop for enormous ice cream cones and take absolutely forever to choose a flavor. It's our thing. Ok maybe mostly my thing. I'm so glad they go along with it for me.
Tulips, sort of, 2020 style
We've just wrapped up spring break here in Mukilteo, and while I would consider it an adventure in staying home and togetherness, we definitely didn't get to see the tulip fields thanks to Covid 19. I'm grateful we have a safe place to shelter in place and that we got to spend afternoons in the yard. We still got some fresh air, even though it wasn't the same as our usual spring break staycation of adventures around town.
I was able to get my hands on a bouquet from a local flower vendor, and we found a quiet spot away from home but also away from other people. We went for a short walk and remembered to smell the flowers. The pandemic is scary, but I have to keep reminding myself that what I want my girls to remember of this time is that they were surrounded by safety and love and togetherness. We will hopefully never have another time quite like this, so these moments with them are precious, even as we wish it was different.
Stay healthy, stay safe, stay home. When we've turned the corner from this, I'd be honored to photograph your family smelling the flowers too.
