It’s been a cold and wet few months here in the Bay State, but after what seemed like an interminable, dark winter, the days are growing longer, and the trees here in the city are finally beginning to bud out. Down the street from our Brookline home, the maple trees display their beautiful red flowers, and the plum and cherry trees are just beginning to show signs of life. A few blocks away, star and saucer magnolias are erupting into the spring’s earliest blooms. On my weekly distance runs along the Emerald Necklace, I watch the season march through its procession of form and colour: one week, marked by the slender golden thread-petals of witch hazel flowering along the pavement in Olmsted Park and the Arnold Arboretum - the next week, notable for wisps of green hanging from the willows in Larz Anderson Park. And all the while, the geese are returning, their squawking and droppings lining the footpath along the Muddy River.
I’ve spent the past few months in a relatively quiescent state, focusing inward, reading and writing plenty, and getting into the best physical shape of my adult life. After running and lifting six days a week throughout the winter, and paying renewed attention to my nutrition, pacing, and recovery, I’ve finally reached a point where I can casually run the half-marathon distance during weekend training. I’ll be continuing my ramp-up into the warmer months, and have registered to run my first marathon (Cape Cod) in October. Meanwhile, work is work and family is family, with all those entail. Jordan has grown into a chatty and opinionated, sharp but sweet child, able to not only speak but also translate (on request) sentences between English and Chinese, and constantly asking something or other of us (“Can I watch it?! Can I watch video, Baba? I want to see big, big train go through tunnel! After dinner, I promise!”). As his attention span has grown, so has his love of discovering the world and enjoying new things. We’ve been making an effort to bring him to new places whenever the weather allows (he still talks to us all the time about “water park” [in February] or 旅館 [‘hotel’ in March]) but he loves most of all to run around in his favorite local parks, and to stroll on down to the Brookline Village T station to watch trains go by (this season notable for 斑馬火車 (‘zebra train’), a Green Line subway car painted in black-and-white stripes, whose each rare appearance is a cause for celebration). Jordan has all the usual foibles of a toddler, mixed in with some alarmingly self-recognizable qualities - such as his moodiness, his introversion, and his ability to rather confidently and skillfully assert his opinions and pursue his interests... Nevertheless, it’s been delightful for us to teach him to move gracefully through the world (he readily says “thank you” “you’re welcome” “please” and “goodbye” in both languages; and very recently, after much teaching about “Share, Bear, Share!” he began to gift ‘his’ toy trains to a younger boy at the library). At least toward me, Jordan is somewhat economical in meting out physical affection, which makes each surprise run-up-and-hug or loudly-and-suddenly “I love you, Baba!” all the more precious. As tiring as the persistent screen-time requests can be (for the written record: we only allow it on weekend nights, after dinner), I wish this iteration of Jordan would stay awhile.
But the season marches on, and the calendar keeps turning. I’m dreading a busy summer ahead (perhaps slightly more than usual), but not before a pair of international trips (to the Outer Hebrides by myself in mid-April, and to Andalusia with a friend in May), along with a smattering of family outings (another water park vacation on Cape Cod in May, a camping trip to Tully Lake in June, and a summer getaway to the Lakes Region in July). Amidst all this, change is the only constant, and along with the trees, I’m hoping that I’m not only growing older, but also growing up and branching out - looking for my own ways to leaf and flower and add a piece of myself to the world.
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April 6, 2025: An early morning visit to Arnold Arboretum to play (very briefly) amidst the blooming carpets of violets and squills before a passing rainstorm forces us back to the car. Despite getting rained on, Jordan loves splashing around in his bright blue raincoat and booties. We head to Coolidge Corner for second breakfast and some groceries.
