Spring is a time for renewal and remembrance

Photo: Contributed

Columnist Kristin Peturson-Laprise (left) with her mom in Paris.

Spring is such a lovely time of year, full of colour, hope and positive energy.

The sun rises earlier, the daffodils come up, spring festivals let us feast on fresh new shoots (and chocolate) and everything seems brighter.

Not to put a damper on things, but this week I want to talk about how renewal also means the cycle of letting go of the old to bring in the new. For me, the change of the seasons is always a time of reflection and pondering the cycle of life. As the new blooms push through the old mulch of years gone by, I remember my old friends as I also celebrate life with new ones.

March 23 would have been my mom’s 79th birthday. She passed away in Mexico three springs ago and although I think of her often, it is in spring when I can feel her closest to me. She was the person who taught me how important it was to stop and smell the flowers.

We shared many memories of spring flowers, from seeds we planted with great aspirations on chilly Alberta spring days (they often didn’t make it), to the stunning bouquets we loved sniffing at Granville Island Market when we lived in Vancouver.

One spring we even got to see the cherry blossoms – in Paris! I think that trip made her into a Francophile.

My mom and I also shared a love of dogs. I was never a mom but both of us were dog moms, so there was a special understanding of how strong that bond can be with a furry four-legged pal. Two of my beautiful “brown girls” (aka Chocolate Labradors), Satchmo and Ella, are memorialized at Kits Point in Vancouver. I try to visit with them every spring, remembering what they both taught me about making the most of life’s pleasures.

(If you’d like to read about my poetic “dog days” in this special corner of the world, check out my column from 2012.

This trip out to Vancouver will be full of touch points all around that circle of life. I’ll get to visit with my brother and we’ll reminisce and toast Mom and her love of spring. I’ll wander through Kits Point and remember my Brown Girls with gratitude and love. I’ll pop by to say hi - in real life - to new friends I’ve gathered from my online group of gals practicing healthy habits and I’ll make new memories with my longest-standing friend who’s come across the pond from England for her spring visit.

You might be wondering about the food… there are food memories too, of course. I will also treat myself to an extra dark hot chocolate and a sour cherry turnover at Thomas Haas, which my mom and I did often.

I’ll probably stock up on some goodies at T & T Supermarket (their egg tarts are tasty and the frozen dim sum is fun). If there’s time, we might get out to “The Beav” as my Dad used to call it – The Flying Beaver in Richmond has a great view of the seaplane dock as you enjoy your weekend pub brunch.

I saw a meme, “The past is a place of reference, not a place of residence; the past is a place of learning, not a place of living.” – Roy T. Bennett. I think that is the key to keep our circle of life turning. My connections to my past anchor my identity as references, but not as weights. Learning from the times I missed opportunities to make memories has made me wiser for the future.

Here’s to a future that is as bright as spring can be, and as aspirational.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.