Spring is a time of rebirth, remembering

Last year at this time we were inundated with doctor’s appointments and worry. So far this year, we have escaped from that depressing merry-go-round and are grateful that we are back to our relatively normal lives.

It was so different when my grandpa had his first heart attack more than 50 years ago than it was when my hubby had his last year. Hubby was in the hospital for a few days. Grandpa was in the hospital for a few weeks. Hubby had rehab, Grandpa was told to take it easy. The goal was to get hubby back to his usual self. Grandpa’s goal was to stay alive, knowing he would eventually perish.

In this season of new life awakening from a cold winter’s nap, I find myself remembering those who have gone before and how they have all shaped my life. I am feeling my mortality.

In order to get into a more spring-like attitude, I check Facebook and what I find makes me smile. There are postings saying “Christ is risen!” Below that there are pictures of toddlers discovering the treasures of their first Easter baskets. There are lots of photos of daughter Beth’s annual Easter party and egg hunt. We were there for Easter one year. It truly was a memorable event as all the cousins and maybe a neighbor kid or two entered into the fray while the adults visited and pointed out eggs to the littlest children.

The next post makes me stifle a giggle, I see a cousin holding his purple cat. He assured me that it was only food coloring but the cat didn’t look like it wanted to be purple. The cat’s housemates are two fluffy ankle-biters who got their pictures taken with the Easter bunny. The dogs were the same color as the giant rabbit. They looked less put upon than the cat did.

I cannot imagine putting food coloring on my cat. She would tear me to pieces. That is assuming I could catch her. She much prefers to determine when she is touched in any way. If I do manage to pick her up, she cries like she is being murdered.

After I have gotten my fill of cute kids and pets, it is time for a walk, or perhaps to pick up all the trash deposited into the yard. Actually anything that gets me outside will help. Sometimes I think sunshine should be marketed as a cure for almost everything.

All the flowerbeds need to be cleaned up. The early flowers, snowdrops, crocus, squills, and winter aconite are all short. The leftovers from last year need to be cut down to better feature the little guys. I enjoy messing around with the beds, but only when it is comfortably warm out.

In the past I have gone out too early. Once I discovered a sleepy toad in a clod of dirt. I put it back underground to nap for another week or so. I know full well that there are many more creatures just waiting for warm weather before coming out of their hiding spaces.

My son-in-law asked if it was spring here. I told him that the calendar is the same in Texas as in Indiana. However, I tell time by what is in bloom. And, yes, it is spring.

Spring is a time to remember as well as a time of rebirth. I am so grateful that medicine has progressed to the stage it is and that heart attacks are not automatically fatal. All the cute kids and awakening flowers make it impossible to be out of sorts. I hope your Easter was happy and that all the eggs that were hidden were found.