If you search the hashtag “view from my window seat” on Instagram, you’ll find a stream of pictures taken out of airplane windows – beautiful shots of mountains and fields and miniaturized cities. These days, our “window seats” are a bit more grounded.
Our worlds have all gotten a lot smaller lately. Obviously we can’t travel, and we can’t even “live like a tourist” in our hometowns. Instead we have to focus on enjoying the sanctuary of our homes and the little slice of the world we can see from our windows.
It’s cherry blossom season in Washington, DC – the trees have already passed their “peak bloom” – but of course making the trek over to the Tidal Basin to witness them in their full glory wasn’t possible this year. (The city eventually had to close off the area, because too many foolish people were ignoring the “stay home” guidance and showing up anyway.) Fortunately, the District is full of cherry trees, including one massive beauty that I can see out my back windows. I had to get my annual cherry blossom fix from that one tree – but it was enough. Now I’m watching another variety of cherry tree starting to blossom in my landlord’s backyard and the first shoots of green leaves emerging from the oak that shades my back porch in summer.
All this upheaval will eventually pass; borders will reopen, we’ll plan our next trips, we’ll remember how to interact with other human beings again. Life will return to a semblance of normalcy. And the cherry trees will bloom again next year.
Be well, and stay home. Wherever you are, I think you’ll find that the view isn’t half bad.