Spring has sprung

It's spring in Texas. The daylilies have jumped up 4 inches since Sunday, when I worked in the yard last. The Forsythia, while it is not going to bloom for me this year (probably because we moved it last year) is leafing out, as is the mock-orange. We've pulled the big potted plants out of the shed and the lemon and orange trees are starting to bloom. And, a single narcissus has bloomed in my flowerbed, left from a bunch of bulbs planted years ago that didn't survive.

Spring makes my mind wander. Spring is all about renewal, newness, fresh starts. I see it in my garden and I love the idea that a plant that didn't work out last year can start fresh this year and give it a try. How lucky that must be...to be able to forget about the past and put everything into the future; an investment that you hope will pay off.

And, as the caregiver to my garden, I try to give each plant its shot at a great year. I feed them and I clean around them to prevent disease. I make sure they get plenty of water and when they have done all that they are supposed to do, I cut them back and wait for another spring to come and bring its fresh start.

How I wish sometimes that people got such a dramatic fresh start every year. A chance to forget all that happened in the past and try again. I guess that we have the advantage of not needing to wait until spring. We can take a fresh start any time that we want one.

So, why not today? I think that today I will make an effort to forget the things that bother me. An effort to work on me instead of all the detritus that surrounds me. A chance to leave any failures behind and only think of successes, past and future.

Spring is not the time to wax nostalgic, but the time to yearn for the good of the future.

I'm going to grab all the good I can this year; all the warm days, all the flower smelling, all the time spent in the porch swing, all the gardening time. And, all the family time and sewing time I can.

Lane