Green things growing

When Nora was one, we started going to the Rockefeller Park Greenhouse on New Year’s Day. I think we picked it because it’s one of maybe two places in Cleveland that are warm, easy to take toddlers, and open on Jan. 1. But it was way more amazing than we expected, so we keep going back every year.

It’s been around since the early 1900s, but something about the giant swirling fans, decades-old glass panels and metal wheels, and the trickling fountains and ponds make this place feel like you’re visiting Gastby’s secret greenhouse. We take a picture under this sign every year.
We run around, put our hands in running fountains, make wishes with pennies in the tiny side room with the benches and the bright green ground-cover. There’s something that seems so perfect about starting the year in a greenhouse —  a place where things are just starting to grow and a reminder that the new beginnings — not just the final grown thing — are so beautiful.