It's My Favorite Time Of Year

It's like a sweet surprise every spring.  The orange groves around my house start popping out orange blossoms and their intoxicating perfume fills the air.  I look forward to the tiny white flowers every year.  As a kid I grew up surrounded by orange groves and the smell of orange blossoms fills my childhood memories.  I recall one day lying on my bed writing a love letter (back before email).  It was my senior year of high school and things were perfect in my life.  It was a beautiful 80 degrees outside and the sun was beginning to set.  My windows were open and the sprinklers were on outside.  A cool breeze over me and it was filled with the perfume of sweet orange blossoms.  It was the best feeling.

Now I try to bring them inside with me whenever I see them.  They never last long but I put them in my hair so I can smell them all day.  One night before my husband and I were married I pulled back my covers to find he had picked a bunch of orange blossoms and scattered them in my sheets.  I slept so well that night.

They are more than a flower to me...they return me memories and provide reassurance that I am home.  I will never grow tired of taking time to smell my favorite flower, even if it's only for a month or two out of the year.