Spring Surprises

Do you ever get the feeling the universe is telling you you are just where you are supposed to be? This spring is giving me that feeling.

Shortly after we moved last fall, I remembered the lilacs I left in our old yard. My father had dug them up from my parents' yard, and I had transplanted them. They were tiny, but each year they got bigger and even started blooming two years ago. I wished I had brought them. I realized I would miss my pink hyacinths, my tulips, and all my lilies, too.

Then early this spring, when the tree at the corner of our new house began to bud, I realized it was a lilac, more than three times the size of the ones I had left behind. I then spotted hyacinths and tulips coming up in the back yard. And last week I figured out that the familiar-looking flowers coming up at the side of the house were calla lilies, some of my favorites and the last bulbs I had planted at our old house.

I told my mom last week that the only thing I needed to add would be some peonies. I hadn't gotten around to planting them at our old house, but they were next on my list. During our visit to my parents' house this weekend, though, I took one look at my parents' peonies and realized that they looked exactly like the two little bushes coming up on our backyard.

A coincidence? Probably. But I can't help feeling this house was meant for us.

Now if I can just figure out where the previous owners planted that dishwasher . . .