Blooms

I took this picture while running around the Tidal Basin last weekend. The Tidal Basin is where the heart of the Cherry Blossom Festival takes place. The fully-budded trees are on the verge of bursting forth in blooms.  The scene - especially with the majestic Jefferson Memorial - is stunning. My favorite place in DC.

Life has moved at a normal clip in the past week, and I have been busy with work, apartment settling, friend visiting, and planning for my upcoming visitors. All such normal, lucky things.

But amidst all this, my heart continues to weigh heavy over the horrific devastation in Japan. I feel so strange to be living while so many have died a world away.  They describe the destruction as "Biblical." The incomprehensibleness of this scares me. Humbles me every day.  Here I am, building my life, while so much life was destroyed.

In a small, simple way, I want to incorporate cherry blossom inspiration into my apartment, as a sort of tribute to the spirit of a nation that has been so wounded. I want my fortune to always be tied to this moment as a reminder and a symbol.