Saturday, May 1, 2010

"Did you make a wish?"

Whenever I hesitate to do something because I'm afraid it might be perceived as silly or childish, I always think about this poem my British Lit. teacher taught us during my senior year of high school...for those keeping track, that was 6 years ago. Whoa.

Anyway, the poem by A.E. Housman:

Loveliest of trees, the cherry now
Is hung with bloom along the bough,
And stands about the woodland ride
Wearing white for Eastertide.

Now, of my threescore years and ten,
Twenty will not come again,
And take from seventy springs a score,
It only leaves me fifty more.

And since to look at things in bloom
Fifty springs are little room,
About the woodlands I will go
To see the cherry hung with snow.


In class that day, our teacher (quite beloved in the school, still is) told us that if our life expectancy was say, 80 years, that would give us but 80 chances to see the cherry trees in bloom. That seems like a lot, no? And that day in that classroom, I didn't give it much thought. But now, six years have gone by. The cherry trees have bloomed six times, and I find myself wondering how that happened so quickly. I am starting to see how 18 turns into 80 at the blink of an eye.


But this post isn't about cherry trees, it's actually about dandelions. I was walking down a fairly busy street the other day, and passed a cluster of white dandelions. All I wanted to do was pick one, blow its seeds into the wind, and make a wish. Because that's what you DO. But I started thinking, "You're 24 years old, get a grip, people can SEE you." And then I thought about that day in class, that poem, and thought "How many chances will you get to do this??" So I picked one, closed my eyes, and blew until every last seed had scattered. Turns out, people could indeed see me. A guy sitting in his car at a red light yelled out, "DID YOU MAKE A WISH??" I considered being embarassed, but really, life's too short for that too. So I yelled back, "OF COURSE!!!!" He gave me a thumbs up, smiled, and drove away.




Of course.

3 comments:

bella beautiful said...

dang Jess.. you're only 24??? I forget sometimes that I am wayyyy older than you.. so does that mean you are super mature for your age..or i am super immature.. I prefer the latter.. because who wants to be all old acting and boring and set in their ways.... oh and btw.... hawaii dates 7/8 - 7/18... i think you still may be in school..

rachaelgking said...

Awwwwwwwww. Love this. I would've done the exact same thing!!!

♥ Kathy said...

How cool is that?!! Love it..you keep wishing on dandelions girl!