I once told Cory that when I was young I didn't have many toys to play with - that I mostly remember playing with old papers from out of a trash can. He busted out with that cackley laugh that he only summons when he finds something unexpectedly hilarious. Then he realized that I was serious and he grew skeptical. Then we consulted my mom and she more or less threw her hands in the air.Truth is, I did have toys. I had a passel of Barbies and my mom even hand-made me some flannel nightgowns for them that matched my own. I also had my fake Cabbage Patch doll - Jonathan and another random doll, Christina. I had a rad bike. But the point is, I mostly remember playing pretend. I played office with the papers from the trash, I played Mary Kay Lady with a goldmine of a find - a discarded "starter kit".
Over and over, at many different stages of my youth, I played Apothecarian. True, I didn't call it that at the time. I probably called it "Perfume Lady" or in my more industrially-minded days, "Perfume Factory".
And then, one time, I made homemade potpourri. It was during the era when potpourri was all the rage. We had several crusty, dusty bowls of the stuff strategically placed around our house. I thought for sure that I had hit paydirt.
I loved every minute of collecting the pretty, colorful blooms. Even then, I was a sucker for flowers, in any form. They were breathtakingly beautiful all combined in my empty styrofoam egg carton. If memory serves me, I gifted the potpourri to my Aunt Jennifer, on her birthday.
This memory surfaced this week as I viewed the blooming trees around our home. Cotton candy confections, right outside my window. Each year when they appear, I'm in amour, all over again. I want them to stay that way forever, but they don't. I want to wrap myself up in them, but, well, they're probably not as pillowy soft as they look. I just want their loveliness to be appreciated for as long as they're with us. My solution this year - make homemade potpourri, 21st Century-style.
Today is Friday! You know what to do. Head over to The Inspired Room and Hooked on Houses for plenty of fun reads.
