Our neighbors are really fantastic. In the Fall of 2021, one of our neighbors happened upon 50 - 100 daffodil bulbs. We have this big open green space in the back of our strip of townhouses. She asked all of us as neighbors to come out on a Saturday morning and plant these bulbs together. And we did! It was alot of fun to do it together.
That day as we were planting, she said “Winter will be long, but we can see what comes back around in the springtime. Hopefully we’ll see a lot of beautiful flowers blooming.”
That same winter, she found out she had cancer. And also, one of my dear friends - the day after her birthday, - found out she had cancer, too. It was a hard Winter's night. She had to start treatments and didn't know what the outcome would be.
This song “Just Last Fall” is telling their stories. And good news!!! My friends both made it to Spring and now live to tell their stories of being cancer survivors. And, for the second year now, the daffodils we planted in our neighborhood are blooming so beautifully and remind me daily that Spring will return!
If you are feeling stuck in a harsh Winter and wondering if you'll make it through, I pray this song will bring hope to you today. We all need a whisper of Spring.
Just Last Fall by Jen Hawley
Lyrics Jen Hawley @2023
Just last fall we dug the ground
In the dying ground we planted flowers
She said, “Winter will be long.”
“Let’s see what comes back around”
Just last fall we dug the ground
It’s a hard winter’s night
A long dark day
If they survive this bitter cold
We’ll see the buds come up in May
I hear a whisper of spring
Just last night I fell to the ground
On my bedroom floor I fell to pieces
Some say life’s a constant fading
We were born to decay
And now I’m running on repeat
The words that the doctor said
Just last night I fell to the ground
It’s a hard winter’s night
A long dark day
Can I survive this bitter cold
to see the buds come up in May?
I need a whisper of spring
A whisper of spring
Just this morning I saw it grow
A little leaf that broke my darkness
Fighting for the light
In that harsh winter ground
It was like it always knew
That we would come back around
I breathed in that budding flower
And whispered “I’m still alive”
Just this morning I saw a light