Their tall slender trunks extend towards the heavens and gently sway when there is a strong breeze. They produce fruitful cones, pointy pine needles, and an awful yellow dust that pollutes the air in the months of spring.
Their evergreen needles stand out in the bleak and barren months of winter. The pervasive pollen is only tollerable when we remember that it is a promise of warmer weather and a harvest of flora and fauna. They provide a lovely amount of shade in the harsh and humid summer months, and in the fall they echo in the ocean-like roar of the changing leaves as the wind blows through them.
The Loblolly Pine- like all of nature- is ordinary and magnificent at the same time. Its a tall, thin pine that adds depth and dimension to the otherwise relatively flat southern horizon. It is found in the Southeast, mostly among swamp lands- hence the name Loblolly which is an old british term for “mire” or “mudhole”.
But this isn’t a blog about trees or the love of them- its about what they symbolize, reflect and represent. The Loblolly Pine is a beautiful constant in my life, and when I see it I know I’m home. It towered over me as a little girl, it beconed me home as a young adult when I wandered, and it’s presence today echos a familiarity that reminds me of how far the journey has brought me.
It is beautiful, fruitful, messy, constant, and protective- some of the exact words I would use to describe this daily life as a mother and wife.
So what is Loblolly Love? It is loving and appreciating the simpliest and most common of things. Its enjoying every season of life. Its taking time to daily see the beauty of nature- written on the scents in the air, the sound of the wind, and painted on the skies. It’s embracing marriage and motherhood and all the joys and pains that come with them. It’s viewing even the most mundane of tasks as life giving nurture to those around me. It’s figuring out how to be and raise loving humans in an ever changing, fast paced, and messy world. It’s seeing our motherhood reflected in nature- ordinary and magnificent at the same time.
So, follow along the journey- I’m sure it won’t look anything like I expect it to. 🙂