March 2019: I just had a baby two months ago n being patient as my body was getting back to normal. Having a baby at 38 took ALOT mentally n physically. It was important for me to find my mojo n bounce back. Since my body clock was out of wack, it's when I started getting up during sunrise. I seen on the news the events surrounding the Cherry Blossoms n it peaked my interest. I wanted to see what the big hoopla was about that tourist traveled near n far for what's been down the street from me for years.
Cherry Blossoms symbolize both birth n death, beauty n violence in Japan's worship of nature. We celebrate the flower viewing to commemorate the gift Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo gave us in 1912 to celebrate the friendship between the US n Japan. I wanted to take advantage of what tourists come here to see n experience the "big deal" downtown DC.
I made it my business to get up extra early n beat the rush to secure a parking space nearby then walk the Tidal Basin. The crisp air fresh in the morning n birds chirping added to the experience. It wasn't crowded n littered with morning joggers n sprinkled with walkers like myself who enjoyed taking it all in.
I didn't know what to expect but to capture the moment, I asked strangers nearby to snap a shot or 2 of me. Outside of that, I was taking it all in. It was a great start to the morning n afterwards, I knew I would make it a tradition for me to visit every year. It's one of the best ways to bring in Spring even if u live outside of the DMV, I would make it a wknd trip. We literally transform around the city to anything Pink n White to celebrate Cherry Blossoms.
After Cherry Blossoms have reached their peak, u typically have a two week window (depending on the weather) to catch them. After they've blessed us, the petals fall n get replaced with green leaves. Once they open they are sensitive to weather n high winds or heavy rain easily knocks em off...I learned this in later years!
Have u taken advantage of the gift of blossoms? When was ur first visit n how'd u like it? Let me know in the comments.
