By Kristina Morgan
Huele de Noche is an unassuming
flowering plant that gives off a heady perfume that will fill an entire
yard with its beauty at night. My daughter Maya thinks it looks like a
weed. But that “weed” is one of the most beautiful flowers in our yard
because of the sheer pleasure I have when I smell it at night. It even
fills our house with the sweet smell. I admit that if you don’t
recognize Huele de Noche for what it is that it is a little unexpected
coming from such a modest flower.
Tonight, as we were leaving
the house I stopped and showed my youngest daughter, Maya, the Huele de
Noche plant and we both breathed in the scent of this surprising flower
that may be small but packs quite a punch! We were leaving the yard and
I was driving her to a dance where she was meeting her sister, Lily,
and their friends.
As we were driving along, Maya and I chatted
about whatever it is mothers and daughters chat about on the way to a
dance. Time to be picked up, where she would meet Lily, etc.
Its
funny how in retrospect these moments of utter normalcy can become the
most poignant moments in our lives and it is also funny that as a
person who loves to use words that I feel myself at a loss to describe
the moment of clarity I had that made me so proud and in awe of this
few seconds that was a blip on the history radar. As a parent, it’s as
if I crossed an invisible threshold tonight.
