Purple Clouds

I spent a week in Santa Monica cat sitting last week. Many people think there’s no seasons in Southern California, but it is actually one of the favorite time of the year for me when we see those purple clouds popping up everywhere. Yes, they are jacaranda trees commonly lining streets of Los Angeles. It’s only when they’re blooming that we get to really appreciate those trees.

My mom, who visited me probably a dozen times or so since I came to Los Angeles in early 1980s, loved jacaranda trees. When they bloom in clusters, they definitely remind us of the cherry blossoms in Japan. Jacarandas are not as delicate as cherry blossoms, but the way they decorate the city streets in the spring — a little bit later than the cherry blossoms — is surely reminiscent of cherry blossoms in Japan.

As I drove in to the Westside and saw those purple clouds, I was excited and immediately thought about Mom. I always looked forward to telling her that jacarandas were blooming. Then I realized I was frantically trying to obtain a visa to get to Japan to see her just about a year ago. Remembering the hoops I had to go through to get there and get to see my mother, who was in a hospital about to make her transition as we thought, feels almost surreal today. Wow. It’s been a year since I went to Japan in the middle of “state of emergency” in Japan. And I actually don’t get to give her the jacaranda report this year. 😢

Seasons keep turning, we all keep “growing,” and things keep changing. Even though it feels like we’ve return to “almost normal” after two full years of living with pandemic, “uncertainty” is a certain element in our lives. I cannot take anything for granted… I might as well enjoy seeing those purple clouds today and be grateful.