Day 26: Mimi's Birthday!!

October 20, 2010

Mimi/Cyndamom's birthday today!! We're so excited to have her with us for it. We all got up and she decided that she wanted a manicure and that I should join her. Oooohhh. I went for a pedicure instead. It was delightful. There's nothing like something taking such time and care with the part of my body I care for the least. I picked a lovely, fall-like wine colour. Lovely. 
Jacob and Pop went to explore PetSmart which Pop said was just like the zoo except there were no lions and you got a better, close-up view. They saw 11 different kinds of animals and had a great time. 

After naptime, we headed to the Japanese Gardens. I remember these from my childhood, visiting my dad out here when he was in grad school and living with my aunt and uncle. The one part that sticks out in my mind was sitting in a quiet area where a small fountain made rhythmic trickling sounds as water poured through a bamboo tube into a pool of water. I wanted to sit there for as long as I could, my family ready to go but my dad allowing me as much time as he could.

There really aren't enough words to describe how beautiful the gardens were. Well, there probably are enough but at 10:14 at night, I'm not prepared to use them all. 

When you first walk in, you're in a valley of giant Douglas firs, some of which are in the valley and others which are on the hillsides next to you, making an amazing tiered experience of height. Beyond the gate and in the actual gardens, things get more... designed. Apparently, the gardeners are present all the time but they blend in, like you would expect from a Zen experience. Branches clipped and trimmed for what someone wants of them. A tour was going on as we entered and it would've been great to catch all of it, but with a toddler, that's not easy. 

 This was such a Pacific Northwest climate, though, with all its moisture-rich smells and luscious plant life. That's one thing I can appreciate after moving from a semi-arid region to an oceanic climate is the benefits of moisture: green plants, flowers at the end of October, deep earthy smells of wet dirt and decomposing leaves. It's just wonderful in those ways. There's a rosemary in our front yard. No pot. In the dirt. Which means it grows all year round outside. Amazing. 

Anyway, back to the gardens. You enter them and it's like stepping into a magical world. The air was cool when at my house it had felt pleasantly warm. Here, the moist air gently surrounded us as we walked through the shrubs and trees. Shaded light as we walked past gently flowing water, larger waterfalls and still ponds that captured the moving water by the end. And through it all those wonderfully full smells that come from so much moisture in the air. The wetness holds the molecules of scent: tree bark, moss, dirt, fallen leaves, growing ferns. I could inhale forever. Wait. Maybe not forever, but for a long time :)

We crossed lovely bridges, some of stone, some wood. Some with rushing water beneath, some with utter stillness. Jacob enjoyed crossing the bridges. By himself. We walked down stairs, up stairs. Of course, he had to do all those by himself. He didn't even want to hold anyone's hand. Pop asked him but his only response was, "Ga-cob". Must get that independent streak from his father.  

 Jacob had a great time walking (and running and jumping) through the gardens. I don't know that he appreciated all the Zen aspects, but he enjoyed it for what it was for him. And the rest of us enjoyed it for what it was for us.

 

 In the end, I don't know that I found the same spot I had found as a child. And with a very small child of my own, I don't know that I could've found that same peace even if I had found the physical spot. But the entire gardens give you a sense of calm that is inescapable. Or maybe just a sense of magic. Not the pull-a-rabbit-out-of-your-hat kind but the kind that makes you feel one with the world around you and that the world around you is a very fantastical place indeed.