Like a weed growing in a crack...

I have been asking around....
Word on the street is... those of us with the SAD issues are in the dumps and trying to come to grips with the fact that this has been one long dark season. Well folks, I am doing pretty good today (2 days and counting) and I have some words from this side... WE ARE ALMOST THERE! Last night, the boys and I were outside enjoying the final wisps of a beautiful February day at 6ish....

"6ish??" you say,

I say "YES."

That is it folks...I have to say that YES we are going to have more of the rainy-grey in the coming weeks BUT that ol' sunshine is coming back and our days and evenings are going to be rosier, lighter, warmer and altogether happier!!! Hooray! I don't care that the silly groundhog prognosticated more winter, for me Spring is on the way.

Some things that are also helping welcome in Spring at our house that I HIGHLY recommend are:

1)Fresh Flowers right where you can see them A LOT!
Right now I have mine on the counter between the Kitchen and our sunroom/play area... I see them in morning and afternoon light and I think that I like them both ways, thank you very much. For those of you that work outside your abode...put some on your desk or your workstation...I used to put even just one bloom in a specimen cup on the high counter next to my lab bench. I especially like tulips because they continue to "grow" and change in their vase as time goes by (the stems grow, and the petals expand and expand until they gently fall.) I find that seeing a natural/organic growing and changing can be very hopeful and wonderful when I am feeling a bit on the gloomy side.

2)Watching a bulb grow...
I forgot to plant my paperwhite bulbs (I know they stink, but they are so cute.)for christmas and found them in a random paper bag 2 weeks ago. I threw them in a pot to see if they would still bloom and it has been nice to watch their greens get a bit bigger every day. They are in my kitchen window so I can check on them too.

3)I was thinking yesterday, about a bit of grass (not weed, people!) and how fast it grows and how it could be great fun to watch a little pot (of grass, people!) grow in the window also....I think that it could last long enough to feel like a hearty project for those of you not inclined to garden (maybe you will catch the fever) and kids could get excited about how fast it grows and maybe they could trim it with their scissors.....or if you get really crazy you could make a little grass baby out of old nylons and watch its "hair" grow. (it is a fun project!!)

4)Make a schedule, and make time for yourself to do something that YOU want to do everyday.
I was feeling like I wasn't getting enough "ME" time and that I was doing A LOT of caring for others...I know that most mommies don't want to admit that this happens because we are suposed to be a fountain of love, information, and patience...but the fountain runs low sometimes...SO, I am getting up earlier in the morning to workout and craft while the kids are sleeping and trying to go to bed earlier...so far, so good.

I read a quote on Ali Edwards blog yesterday and it really resonated with me:

Each second we live is a new and unique moment of the universe, a moment that will never be again. And what do we teach our children? We teach them that two and two make four, and that Paris is the capital of France. When will we also
teach them what they are? We should say to each of them: Do you know what you are? You are a marvel. You are unique. In all the years that have passed, there has never been another child like you. Your legs, your arms, your clever
fingers, the way you move. You may become a Shakespeare, a Michaelangelo, a Beethoven. You have the capacity for anything. Yes, you are a marvel. And when you grow up, can you then harm another who is, like you, a marvel? You must
work, we must all work, to make the world worthy of its children.
--Pablo Casals

This is a really important message for me to teach my boys, that I am teaching them. But, more important, right now, it seems like a message that I need to teach myself. To help me remember, I am claiming for my word this year, Marvel...both the noun and the verb. I had chosen a different word, but hadn't yet committed to it here on the blog...this one feels better to me.

Marvel:
(verb) to become filled with surprise, wonder, or amazed curiosity.
(noun) one that causes wonder or astonishment.

Curiosity and wonder are a good thing, a thing we need every day. Here's to a brighter day for us all!
JMB
PS
I apologize for any typos... the silly spellcheck on Blogger refuses to work, for a third post!