IT DID, ACTUALLY, TAKE A VILLAGE

摘要

Two events in recent months really stand out for me. the first was driving home from New York City in a snowstorm—on October 29. The second was watching the magnolia tree in our front yard bloom—in late March, about one month ahead of schedule. Two days later, seasonally normal temperatures returned, and an evening freeze killed off the blossoms, turning them from a delicate pale purple to a sickly burnt orange. The magnolia survived, and I've been reassured that it will blossom anew next spring, a note of hope to which I will return momentarily.