Happy Easter!

Happy Easter, my friends!  You know, there is just something about the Easter season that brings me joy know matter where I may be in my life.  Spring is a time of rebirth, and it always gives me a sense that I can start over to a certain extent.  Looking out my window, I can see nature in all her splendor.  There are two young dogwood trees in my front yard, and I have loved watching them go from looking like large twigs, to being covered in lovely white flowers, to looking like real trees again.  It is just so lovely.

The world almost seems brand new again at this time of the year.  The trees have budded and the new leaves are starting to come out.  Everything seems fresh and new and full of hope.  And while Spring is terrible for my allergies, it is still one of my favorite times of year.  Spring means that the temperatures are starting to get warmer, and that almost always means less pain for me.  I love going out on my deck in the mornings with a cup of coffee, and having that solitude that I crave.  I'm not stuck inside anymore!  And the warmth of the sun always feels so good on my joints.  It's easier for me to be happier about those small pleasures again.

I do feel a little bit of melancholy at Easter time, however.  Why?  Because I miss the days when my boys were little and they would get so excited to wake up and see what the Easter Bunny had brought them!  Just like with Christmas, they would be up at the crack of dawn, running into the living room to see what treasures they would find in their baskets.  After church, Dale would take all of the eggs outside and hide them for the boys to find, while I cooked Easter dinner.  Those days are over for now.  The boys will sleep half the day, come out of their rooms long enough to grab the chocolate and retreat again til it's time to eat.  But I know that they are all growing up to be fine young men, and one of these days, we will get to experience that excitement again when they have children of their own.

I've never been one to make New Year's resolutions.  I just don't feel like starting something new in the dead of winter.  Spring seems more like the time to begin something different or try something new.  I would love to say that I'm going to start going to the gym or walking around the block, but with my bad knees and back and everything else that's falling apart, we all know that isn't going to happen!  But I do have some things that I want to do better on for the rest of the year.

First of all, I want to do a better job of keeping up with my housework!  I've spent the last couple of days doing some spring cleaning, and it feels so good to have a clean house!  I think if I just do a few things a day, I can stay on top of it and not have to kill myself when I decide that I've had enough.  I also want to try and spend more time with my boys individually.  They are all growing up so fast, and it isn't going to be long until they are grown and gone.  I want to make sure they each know how precious they are to me.  Lastly, I want to learn to be more compassionate.  I want to do a better job of letting the people around me know that they matter and I take them seriously.  I can only speak for myself, but there are times when I get so caught up in my pain, that I fail to see the pain in people around me.

Take a little time during this season of rebirth to see what you can change in your life.  It doesn't have to be monumental, and you don't have to share it with anyone else.  Just decide in your heart that you are going to do one of two things to become the person that you wish to be.  I hope each and everyone of you has a happy Easter, and that you are able to look beyond your pain and see the beauty that the world has to offer.