The weather is here; wish you were beautiful

It's the feeling I wait for all winter brought about by the season called spring. Ahhhh.. Warmer, longer, sunnier days--way more suited to my personality. Kind of my own personal Easter. It's as if I've risen from the dead and am filled with hope and promise. Truly resolved to renew all areas of my life. Predictable, I know, but overwhelmingly true, for me. Time to throw open (or crank out) my windows and allow the fresh air to flush clean the old and dead winter air. The wonderful signs of spring are everywhere. 16 mile is full of people and pets walking as well as joggers, bikers and rollerbladers. If they are anything like me, they too have decided to make a fresh effort towards their fitness. Mr. and Mrs. Duck have returned their spring ditch with plans to expand their little duck family. I've seen a few fat robins, and that one true sign--the hottie UPS driver is once again wearing his cute little brown shorts! (you know who you are!) And I can't wait to get to my friend Ivan's farm to see all the new, baby farm animals. My neighbor is tilling his yard and will provide me luscious tomatoes and cucumbers soon. After months with my faux cashmere blanket in front of the fireplace, undoubtedly eating Hershey dark chocolate kisses, its time to get my big rear in gear! Cheesy TV and sudoku can only sustain me for so long. I need to hit a lawn chair with a juicy read or two. No one said that all of my goals are ambitious! I am actually looking forward to yard work--a feeling that usually wears off by Memorial Day. My crocus, tulip, spirea, and lilac and magnolia trees never fail to fill me with optimism. A box in my bedroom is filling with sweaters and such unworn this winter, things that don't quite fit anymore, (cleaners musta shrunk those pants!) , and stuff I just don't think I need to own. Usually all drawers and closets are subject to my crazy spring purging. Black Betty will be enlisted for a SalVal run. I also like to make an effort to blow the cobwebs out of my brain. Yoga with a special attention to meditation goes a long way to my personal organization and helps me think out the old and stale to make way for new and fresh thoughts. I bought some new canvases and brushes with an urge to create something beautiful. (We'll see). The Pistons will be in the playoffs and the Tigers--although off to a slow start--will hopefully provide exciting spring entertainment. I usually freeze my butt off the first few Comerica Park visits, but I wouldn't miss it for the world. Gives me the chance to make that questionable fashion statement of a baseball cap AND mittens! I often wonder if and when I take up a more permanent residence in south Florida, if I will have the same attitude about spring. After all, what is there to look forward to when the weather varies by only a couple of degrees all year long? Do you get to experience the hopefulness that the lilac scent brings when the bougainvillea is blooming always? Not for me, I fear. In Michigan it seems as though we are all on the same team, just trying to fight the good fight and muddle through till we can stand to be outside without seizing up. The poor Floridians just do not know what they are missing! It's a goal we know we can achieve with a little fortitude and patience. So, as I pack up my fur and down and turn off the fireplace, I welcome the spring and summer that make me feel alive. I love it and I love knowing that the cozy, lazy, winter will come again. xoxo