Touching Spring

I’m delighting in everything spring as my husband and I put a wrap on six weeks of travel in Scandinavia. While we arrived in Oslo, Norway during one of the last snows of winter, we departed Copenhagen, Denmark warmed by the sun-filled days of spring. As I admired the flowering bulbs blooming in Copenhagen, I felt a smile creep up on my face and happiness fill me with unexpected joy. I found I wanted to reach out and touch a petal just to feel the incredible energy of the emergence of spring.

Follow me into more spring days ahead as we move into the month of May. Leave the dark, cold days of winter behind and embrace a brighter, warmer spring. Enjoy whatever this season holds whether it's different activities, food, clothing, décor, or moments in nature. You might find that you have a fresh approach to everything if you stop to see what’s changing around you, listen to the birds singing their songs, taste the wonderful berries, veggies, and fresh fruit of early sun-filled days, smell the sweetness in the air, and touch the energy of these warmer days.

Welcome the infinite possibilities of spring!

 Michelle

Spring Colorful Clipart courtesy of PublicDomainePictures

Fall Moments

When September rolled around, I was staying high in the Rocky Mountains in Breckenridge, Colorado at 10,000 feet. Those first cool crisp mornings in the 40s sent my internal seasons calendar directly to fall right then and there. Ever since our visit to Breck, I’ve had one fall moment after another hit me like a storage box full of comfy sweaters falling out of the closet. Thing is, I didn’t have one of those fall moments sweaters with me, so I found the perfect sweater to cozy up in at a local clothing store and bought it - been wearing it ever since.

Along with my fall moments sweater attack, I’ve been craving anything with loads of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Bring on the pumpkin bread, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin pie, and creamy pumpkin soup. And then there's other fall moment cravings like my homemade chicken pot pie, chicken and dumplings, soups, soups, and more soups. Ah, yes, fall comfort food. I even purchased a cinnamon spice room spray that lifts my October fall moments to new heights as soon as I’ve sprayed it all around. Oh my, I’ve got this fall moments thing bad.

While I’ve left my cooler 6-weeks in Colorado behind as we traveled into New Mexico, and now Arizona where temperatures still warm into the 80s most days, I'm still able to wear my new fall moments sweater in the cool-ish mornings. Don’t be surprised if you find me in one of the local grocery stores in Tucson wearing my sweater even if the sun is blazing outside. I’m finding it handy to have with me in those air conditioned environments. Perhaps I should carry my cinnamon spice room freshener with me and spritz the air wherever I go? I'd be spreading the fall love around one spritz at a time. Hey, I think I’m on to something there!

What’s with all this fall-derol? Celebrating the moments of your life by including whatever season it may be. Get your comfy sweater on, get outside, smell the leaves as they begin to spice up the fall air, and celebrate fall with me - that is until I’m going on and on about how much I love winter.

Michelle

Sweater photo courtesy of damclark's

Springing Forward

Spring is natures way of saying, "Let's party!"

Robin Williams

With the sun spreading golden rays of warmth and the carpet-cleaning technician working away on the floors of my home, I felt the pangs of spring fever come crashing in. With fresh and clean carpets, I wanted fresh and clean everything⎯inside and out. My mind started to race with thoughts of moving furniture, freshening drapes, washing windows, cleaning closets, vacuuming, dusting, and on and on. I know when I get this way, I even find myself smiling just thinking about fresh and clean. It’s like I have rose-colored glasses and all is just that⎯rosy.

This is the time of year when everything seems to sprout anew, start the cycle over and come out of the hibernation of winter. The birds are celebrating the season by singing their songs and flitting around from here to there as if they are trying to catch up on lost time. The tree frogs celebrate the season by croaking away fever-pitched each night as the sounds of spring gather to a cacophony of different beats. Spring fever for me is a big kick of motivation, and right now I am highly motivated to get moving with the rhythm of the season into spring.

As I spring the clock forward an hour, I will use the motivation that spring fever gives me, and allow it to gather momentum, as I move through spring and summer⎯ until it is time for me to let go and begin the slowing pace fall brings⎯and I gain back the hour of time I lost months ago.

So what are you waiting for? You’ve lost an hour⎯march forward and get your rosy rear in gear, BUT with all the momentum of the season you will be gathering, don’t forget to give yourself time...

Photo courtesy of D. Sharon Pruitt

Get Moving into Summer

"The greatest thing in the world is not so much where we are, but in what direction we are moving."

Oliver Wendell Holmes

It is another cool, rainy day. Spring never quite arrived, so I have my hopes of warmth and sunshine set on summer. Summer brings with it a certain lightness of being. I can pack away the fleece and bring out the cotton, I can count on local garden-fresh fruit and vegetables to invigorate my meals, I can lounge in the warmth of a lazy summer day, I can pick up the pace of my summer walks or runs as the early morning sun rises, I can enjoy the parade of blooms as we move through summer, I can delight in the basil growing in a pot on my patio as I add it to almost everything I eat, I can savor my morning cup of coffee or tea on my front porch as the sun peaks its way above the trees, I can stop and listen to the songs of summer as the birds drift in and out of the area, I can kick off my shoes and let my feet wander. Oh summer⎯I welcome your returning grace.

How might you enjoy summer?

• Catch some sand between your toes
• Head out for a swim or a float
• Camp in the woods
• Scrape off the BBQ
• Grab your boat
• Dance at a festival or outdoor concert
• Devour a humongous ice-cream cone
• Go outside and get moving

Summer may scream more work in the yard, but that is a good thing. We need to move and stretch our bodies and do the things outside one does when summer rolls around. No matter what type of summer we have, I will take advantage of a bounce in the temp even if the rain continues to fall. I am going to keep moving and use the momentum I am gaining to enjoy all the spoils of the season. It’s summer after all, and once it is gone⎯we will have to wait another year. Don’t let this one slip by.

As I begin moving into summer I will be taking a break from my weekly postings. I may send you a thought or two along the way to keep you moving; otherwise, I will plan on catching you up in the fall.

Here's to an amazing summer of moving in the right direction. How do you plan on moving this summer?

Photo courtesy of Guiri R. Reyes
© Copyright 2011 Michelle Clark