Oh Spring~~ Let Me Count the Ways That I Love You!

Being a Michigan girl has always kept me anticipating the arrival of spring after a long, cold winter that drags on a little too long for my liking. As soon as February comes to a close, I stretch and come out of my "cave" to smell the air for that slight hint of spring. Of course, the groundhog must have the spotlight when it comes to actually predicting how close spring really is, and if he's wrong? Well, he never is, according to his fans. He did not see his shadow this year, so once again, my anticipation for that earlier resurrection season of green life outside begins.

Like the pregnancies with each of my children, the last month seems too drag along too slow, and none of my once fashionable and cute maternity clothes look the the least bit cute anymore. So, it is with the month of February and part of March, the snow is gray and dirty, no longer the white, pretty flakes that magically sprinkled down like fairy dust from heaven. But at least March (usually) brings temperatures above 10 degrees and daylight begins to stay longer than 5 o'clock in the afternoon. Snowblowers and the repetitive sound of neighbors shoveling their driveway for the second and third time in one day, begins to fade away.

One of the best things about spring approaching is the excitement of retiring my handy-dandy multi-purpose car window scraper, to the shed for a few months. I am not one of the fortunate ones to have a garage to park my car in for the winter months, so the latest snow removal gadgets are on my list of "must haves" for next Christmas for sure.

What better time to have a wedding than in the spring? The earth has brought forth new life out of death all that was green and alive, new, baby animals are born and marriages bring a merging of two lives into one. I am partial since I had both of my past weddings outside and I can testify to the fact that the surroundings of trees, grass, flowers, sunshine, birds singing and the baby blue sky, brought forth a solemn witness of holy matrimony.

One thing I would do different back then would have been to buy a wedding planner. I had a notebook with pages and pages of details for the wedding and reception that could have been organized much better with a planner. These planners have everything you could possibly think of for your wedding and more.

These are few of the many things I love about spring and I will tell you why.

1. Thunderstorms: I am the youngest of seven children and as far back as I can remember, one of my older siblings would sit on the swing with me on our front porch during a thunderstorm. Everyone in my family seemed to inherit our father's love of thunderstorms and we never felt any fear or anxiety over them, just like dad. My older siblings and I would sit on the porch swing and watch the distant lightning with anticipation of the storm. We enjoyed the warm, spring breeze and listening to the storm roll in like a drum line. Very fond memories to this day.
2. Trees, Flowers and Gardens: Not enough can be said about my passion for the new buds on the trees, flowers popping out of the ground everywhere and the brown and lifeless grass becoming a soft, green carpet once again. Vegetable gardens with heirloom seeds are threatened by genetically modified ones, and I am grateful to all of the people who are saving these precious, original seeds for our future generation. I have a deep respect for God's divine creation of the planet earth and the never ending cycle of death and life.
3. New Babies of all species: Babies of all kinds are born in the spring as the natural cycle of life takes place year after year. It speaks of hope and the ever present fact of the miracle of life that should be hailed as the highest gift bestowed upon mankind. I cherish each and every baby born of humans, animals, singing birds everywhere, and even most insects. Well, I could do without fleas, bedbugs, gnats and roaches, but I guess they serve a purpose. Just not in my space! May we be good stewards of these innocent babies and nurture them with the design placed is us to do just that. Happy Spring Everyone!