Spring Has Sprung!!!

SPRING IS HERE!!

It's funny to think of Spring and how you change your feelings about it over the years. When I was young, it was my favorite time of the year. I still remember so clearly the Spring that I was a senior in high school - it was 1974 - oh that takes me back. I remember walking outside on a beautiful March day and feeling that life was anew and everything was reborn. I had lost my Dad one week prior to Christmas the year before, after a two year battle with lung cancer and it had been a very long depressing winter. At that time all of the flowers he had carefully planted in our small yard began to bloom and let me know that life would continue on.

Years later when I was working at an insurance company, I would always dress in my cheerful, flowery best on the first day of Spring - no matter what the weather. In South Carolina, it could be snowing on March 20th or it could be a balmy 80 degrees - you just never know. I remember a co-worker commenting on my Spring tradition and I was so touched that she noticed my mood and wardrobe change. I am happy to say that no one can see my wardrobe welcome to Spring now because it is a far cry from what it once was. I have to admit that the beginning of Spring often brings on a little bout with depression as I remember what it used to mean to me and lament on how my life has changed. But.......I cannot allow myself this little whine session for long because I have others to think about and I must put on a happy face.

I truly am thankful for many things these days, especially my family and my home and my computer which allows my brain to not be turned into a soft mushy ball. I am thankful for my friends - some whom I have never met, but they boost me daily online and keep me trudging the path that is now my life. They allow me to feel useful even when it is not true and they give me dignity that I have lost in so many areas of my life!

So for at least today - the first herald of Spring - I will put one foot in front of another and continue on my path - it may not be what I planned, but it is ok and I am happy just the same.