I’m writing from Japan, where I’ve been soaking up every minute of a very special trip with my youngest child, 11-year-old August.
Travel brings the good, the bad, the unexpected and the unforgettable – and we’ve had it all. Let me start with the cherry blossoms. I have daydreamed for decades about seeing those pale-pink blooms in real life and they did not disappoint. They are breathtaking. Soft, delicate and quietly joyful, they spark something deep in your soul.
What I wasn’t expecting was the wave of emotion that hit me. I was sitting on a park bench overlooking the sakura and a peaceful lake, watching my son catch falling petals in his baseball cap. I was smiling from ear to ear … and crying at the same time. In that moment, everything felt so clear. Life is beautiful. Life is fleeting. Life is meant to be lived. And one day, it will end for all of us.
It felt as if it was just yesterday when my youngest boy was four-years-old and we would split a milkshake together after we dropped his siblings at school before heading home to watch Play School on TV. Then, we had the toy Matchbox car phase and the Monster Truck years. Early primary school was a blur of craft and learning to read. We played at the beach and diligently went to swimming lessons every Saturday.
I would tuck my treasure into bed every night with a glass of milk and a story. And now my youngest child is in his final year of primary school. Gulp. Stop, Father Time! You are going too fast.
All of those thoughts rushed through me as I watched Augie under those falling blossoms. The sakura only bloom for about 10 days each year. Then, their cloud-like petals fall to the ground, gone almost as quickly as they arrived. And I realised: so do these moments.
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I held my son’s hand tightly for most of the trip, knowing these might be some of the last times he wants to hold my hand in public; some of the last times he reaches for me when he’s hurt, hungry or bursting with something exciting to share. Now, cherry blossoms will forever remind me of my son.
I would love a blossom tree in my backyard but they don’t thrive in the tropics. So, I am planting a jacaranda tree. New adventures and memories will come with each season and their falling purple petals.
Sami Muirhead is a radio announcer, blogger and commentator, wife and mum of three.
