Spring is
here! Spring was officially declared at 12:57 p.m. ten
days ago, and winter is supposed to move on until its turn comes around again. For you and me, Moving Forward in our lives, our thoughts, our ambitions, or our
projects, spring is a reminder of all the exciting possibilities.
Spring is
squirming out of the trees with tiny green leaves. It’s peeping out of the ground with bursts of
color from the bulbs. It’s sprouting
young buds from the up-stretched limbs of the fruit trees. The sun is a bit
higher in the sky and is warming the ground.
Even though
I love spring and welcome it, I must admit to you that I’ve enjoyed
winter. No, I’ve loved winter. I know that could be because it was our first
one in north Georgia after living in Florida for many years. I may not feel the
same after a few more winters here, but not yet.
For this
winter, there was something exciting and invigorating about waking up to my
little piece of the world covered in glorious, fresh dazzling snow. I found a lovely sense of comfort wrapping my
hands around my morning steaming coffee cup and letting the warmth of that
first sip slide through me. I
experienced a special looking-forward-to my afternoon cup of hot tea. I learned the absolute joy of fleece
sheets. It was suggested that I get fleece, not
flannel. I’m so glad I did because that comforting
feeling of being cocooned in that soft fleece at night was pure coziness. (The only negative to those sheets was that I
didn’t want to get out of them in the morning.)
In these ten
days of spring, we’ve had snow, below freezing temperature days, cloudy days, and
rainy days. Just because the calendar
says spring, winter doesn’t always step aside without a last minute reminder
that it has been the reigning force.
Just because
there are things you want to accomplish, it doesn’t happen all at once, as nice
as that would be. Getting started and
sticking with it are the main reasons experts tell us people don’t accomplish
what they’re capable of. So if it’s
getting started and sticking with it, spring is our picture lesson.
My sweet
friend, Lori, sent me two lilac bushes when I moved here. Since the title of my book is That End of Lilac Lane, and I now live
in a place where lilacs grow, I was so excited.
We found just the right place to plant them so I can see them from the
kitchen window. So far, those bushes
have looked like clumps of dead sticks.
However, yesterday, I knelt down close and saw tiny purple-tinged buds swelling
out all along those “sticks.” They’re
getting started! They'll persevere until there are gorgeous clusters of lilacs,
full and fragrant! Maybe, this year,
there will be enough for me to bring in a great bunch and fill an antique white
pitcher that's waiting for them. I can imagine the brilliance of
those amethyst blossoms tumbling out of the pitcher and filling the house with
their sweet perfume.
Spring is
trying to take its place and elbow out winter. For us, habits that need to go or projects
that need to be started have to begin--even in tiny beginnings. You have to bud before you bloom. Move Forward! It’s spring!
I'd love to hear what 'spring buds' you are planning!
You can comment on my fb page: Sharon Schuller Kiser
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