Hey, wait a minute. It's April, not January!
As I was putting up a few Easter decorations the other day, I started thinking. (I know...that can be dangerous!) Maybe this is the time of year for fresh starts and new beginnings. Sure, a new year seems like the perfect time to turn over a new leaf with a new calendar page. But there usually aren't a lot of leaves around Wisconsin in January. Easter, on the other hand, feels so synonymous with spring for me. Birds chirping, trees budding, flowers blooming. Bunnies and chicks and a new dress and, with a little luck, no more winter coats (though we got off easy in that department this year).
If you celebrate a Christian Easter, it's obvious. Resurrection, rebirth, new life. This is the event that changes everything for believers. It's all "new" after Easter.
If you're in it just for the chocolate bunnies and the Peeps, it's still hard to deny the tulips and daffodils and that first chance to open the windows without running the furnace. It's time to get out of the winter doldrums and back into the sunshine and fresh air.
Now, I'll admit I'm not much for "resolutions." I think if I want to break a bad habit or start a good habit, I'm not motivated by a particular date. I'm not inspired to change just because it's a tradition or I'm supposed to do it. It's got to come from inside.
So while Mother Nature is waking up again from a long winter's nap, perhaps I'll start to shake off a few cobwebs myself. If she can do it, so can I. Let's see...I could blog more often. I've got plenty of books patiently waiting to be opened again. If I'd just play my clarinet for a few minutes on a regular basis, maybe I could get back into that groove. I should really have a more regular household chore routine. There are all sorts of things that are easier to undertake on a gorgeous spring day than in subzero temperatures. It just feels right at this time of year to send out the old and bring in the new.
Just don't hold me to any formal resolutions.
Happy Easter, and enjoy a glorious spring!
