Week 70: Luck of the Cherries

Earlier this week, the Cherry Blossom trees that surround the DC’s tidal basin were in full, pink bloom for St. Patrick’s Day! Having moved to DC in 2008, I first experienced the tourist hype of the Cherry Blossoms, which further delayed my daily commute by about an hour. The trees had their full bloom around the 7th of April. I became fascinated with this cultural phenom since the Cherry Blossom trees are indigenous in Japan and not DC. Why would people travel and pay the expense to see these trees? During that first year in DC, my friend from Columbus visited to solely witness the blooming bonanza…I had no idea this event was well-known.
Each year, the full blossoms are forecasted, so tourists may pay homage to these delicate buds. Occasionally, the weather has been atrocious and disrupted the springtime foliage (I’m recalling one year with a terrible windstorm that nearly blew all the blossoms off the trees). There are no guarantees when planning for a full bloom – I guess like those people planning trips to see an eclipse in Cleveland, a city of mostly cloudy days (*looking at my brother, Ryan). With regard to the Cherry Blossoms this year, I am baffled to read that the full bloom occurred on St. Patrick’s Day weekend! That is nearly 3 weeks earlier than when I first experienced the event 16 years ago.
Certainly, weather patterns, cycles and Nature seem to be changing to whatever climate/greenhouse effects seem to be occurring. I share this observation of the blossoming trees since I often feel like I live in a bubble located in West Virginia
and seem to be out of touch with the movements of the rest of the world. I use these past experiences to inform my present situation for fostering a more successful future. In DC, the green of St. Patrick’s Day will now be glittered with the pink petals of the Cherry Blossoms, and for budding seekers, the Cherry Blossom Festival may soon bloom to become a joint celebration with ol’ Saint Paddy.
Unfortunately, we did not have a special this weekend, so it was just a routine week. In preparing for a formal evaluation visit, all of us have been busy cleaning and preparing for a successful audit. I’ll speak more to this next week 🙂 Until then, I hope you have a wonderfully festive and safe week. Continue to be mindful of any little miracles in your daily life and thank you for indulging me with this blog reflection 🙂