holden arboretum, i want to write you a love note. i want to tell you how much i love you in the spring. i love your daffodils and snowdrops. i love your kelly green grass. i love your cardinals chasing each other through the trees. i love you in fall. i love your sassafras trees. i love your magnolias. i love the way the sky feels when i’m walking through your gardens. i love you in every season, every weather.

when i bundle my memories, my happiest moments with my family have been with you, holden. you’ve been there for fourth of july bbqs, for long talks about what to name the baby, for refuge when we’ve been confused, when we’ve felt constricted by the city.

i wish i could take you with me. i wish i could bottle you. i wish i could always see your shocking pink rhododendrons.

i will miss you, holden. so much that it’s too hard to say goodbye.

[and if i sound mushy and affected it's because i am.]