Pink Snow

Yesterday was a perfect Spring day. On days of such exquisite weather I imagine that all that Columbia/Howard County has to offer is alive with invitation. Walk or bike on Columbia’s pathways.  Visit the Robinson Nature Center or the Howard County Conservancy. Go down to the Lakefront and enjoy the fountain. Have a picnic at Blandair, Centennial, or other local parks. Give your children extra time at the playground.

I spent yesterday observing the beauty of nature from my comfy chair, partially immobilized by a Benadryl haze. I love Spring. I also have allergies. I opened up the house to let the fresh air blow through, opened the curtains to enjoy the view, and then I dozed. A lot.

One of my favorite sights each year is this tree which sits in our neighbor’s yard.

We are on our fourth set of neighbors in that house, but the glory of the tree remains constant. Yesterday I watched the Spring breezes blow billows of “pink snow” into the air. I thought of all the folks who have lived in that house since I have lived here. 

These houses are considered to be “starter houses”, I believe. So we have seen folks come and go with some regularity around us. We have stayed, rooted to our neighborhood, village, and the simple fact that we are living in a house in Columbia that two teachers can afford. And that’s okay.

I have often been told off for not understanding what Columbia is all about, or for supporting some initiative that Rouse surely would have opposed. There’s no way for someone who wasn’t around in the beginning to fully refute that. Those are fruitless arguments.

All I have to offer is my own lived experience in a community which has become my community. At some point in our history we are going to have to start allowing as how that matters, too. Right now I have Spring, and pink snow, and the memories of wonderful neighbors.

For today that will have to be enough.