P R I M A V E R A !!! (Whew)

Such was the message I wrote a family member on March 20th, The First Day of Spring. "Whew" was right.  Winter seemed endless.  I, literally, no sooner got back from my month in Santa Fe than we were all met with those three Nor'easter snow storms, Quincy, Riptide, and Stargaze.  Those weren't the names, of course, but you know the ones I mean.  Beastly storms!

Front lawn on the first day of spring

But my forced house-bound status put me onto a project I've been meaning to do.  One of those things on my long-term list that you can't just spend an hour or two and then tick off.  No, this project can take days, weeks.  The Big Spring Clean.  Going through everything in the house--and I do mean everything.  Holding it up to look at.  Deciding if it stays or goes.

Coincidentally, I found a just-published book that spoke of cleaning out when one gets to be, as the Swedish author described herself, "between the ages of 80 and 100."  The gist?  To get rid of things yourself so that your loved ones have less to do when the time comes. I'm not, in fact, dealing with major stuff but rather clothes that no longer fill the bill, old 33 RPM records from Vivaldi to the Kingston Trio, books/books/books, outdated files.

It's all very satisfying.

But along with those re-evaluations is the one that asks me about this blog. As of today, April 5th, I have now been at this exactly seven years--with 302 postings in all. Not bad.

So, my question:  do I continue this blog?  Answer:  yes, for now.  As long as I enjoy it and feel that I have something to say that might elicit some interest.  But ... I can't promise how long I'll continue it. Its demise might just fit into a new attitude one day.  Which reminds me of something else I was going to mention with respect to this cleaning-out thing. It also lets me make room for New Things, New Activities, Opportunities.  (I capitalize them because they're more fun that way.)  I find, for instance, that I spend nearly all my evenings reading.  So that means I read a LOT of books.  But I also get to the point where the part of my brain that I might call "Books Read" seems to get filled up.  Even filled to over-flowing.  I sometimes think of myself as a Book Junkie.  Too many.  I need to leave a little more space.

So, it can be the same with Things.  Too many.  No room for something new. So I toss out those things ready to go ... but often thank them first simply because I have fond memories of many.  So whereas it may seem that you're making room for more things, in fact you might be making room for new approaches, new attitudes, as I mentioned.

Enough said.  Happy Spring, everyone!!  Just think:  with the snow melted (which it isn't yet as I write this), we will have room for the daffodils to bloom ... then the lilacs, the iris, and on and on.

Under this sketch of this humble little flower, the snowdrop--a faithful harbinger of the season--I wrote, "Even bigger than life size, but a portal to spring ... and the sense of possibility."