Lilacs in winter

The holiday season is over. Amen. Farewell. I know this because I took the tree down yesterday, helping each ornament find its way to a container in big plastic bins. Each ornament says, 'Remember me?' Some hung on trees 50 years ago...smiling elves, ceramic bells, plastic gingerbread men. Others found their way to our tree from mergers of family. A sadness in this putting away.
But all around me, a new season dawns. The lilacs tell me so. Big, fat, greenish yellow buds laugh-off the winter chill and remind me that brother crocus and tulip are already stirring underground, right by the foundation facing south. Now I await the song of the cardinal, the song that comes every winter in the hashest part of the season. In a bright red attire, he will sing the next season to us. But that's still a few weeks away. Meanwhile, I find brightness and a smile in the lilacs in winter.