A Sign of Spring

I like little things, the minutiae of everyday life. Take yesterday. I found a possum foraging in the garage for food. I noticed long runners from the Morning Glory growing under the Mountain Laurels. I stood beside an understory tree planted by my son that is now nearly head high. I watched a caterpillar crawl across my porch looking for a place to rest. I read that the state of Mississippi voted to approve a new state flag.

A lot of times, little things don’t mean much. I’m hardly concerned that a possum came to visit. We live in the city close to the country. And sometimes, little things have their own meaning. The Morning Glory growth is a harbinger of a healthy plant. The understory tree will add color and diversity to the garden, which is good for the humans and the big trees and the birds. The caterpillar will become a butterfly, which is good for everyone. And sometimes you have to be careful figuring out what a little thing means, for instance, Mississippi’s new state flag features a Magnolia.

I guess the latter caught my attention because the previous state flag featured a battle flag from a war in the U.S. that ended 155 years ago. A lot of people have opinions about that flag. I do, too. But my wife and I would occasionally seek out help when we got to a tough spot, and one of the things we learned was how hard it is to divine intention. And I have no idea why any of the voters of Mississippi decided what they decided about that flag. But the all had their reasons, and the end result was the same. They changed their flag. As for me, I think that Magnolia bloom looks pretty, and it reminds me of spring.