Buds, Bees, And New Beginnings

When I looked out of my window yesterday, it was hard to believe that just 10 days ago I woke up to a dusting of snow on the rooftops and lawns of the houses all up and down the block. Yesterday, after a long overdue string of 65+ degree days, I woke up instead to ... green! All the trees that had been wearing their winter scarves just last week were now decked out in a sweet profusion of green buds and the beginnings of leaves and flowers. Just to make it a perfect Easter morning, I spied my very first bee of the season as well. The little guy was buzzing around the windows of my apartment complex. I think he was trying to figure out how to get inside to feast on the tempting Easter plants that were gracing every one's window sills ... alas, behind glass. He even made a pass at my window but if he had gotten in, he would have been disappointed - the flowers on my desk aew made of silk and paper, not sweet, new nectar (with two cats who like to feast on my plants a.k.a. the Kitty Salad Bar, I've learned my lesson about cats and plants sunning on the window sills). Off flew my little stripped friend to search for his Easter breakfast!

There is something about the arrival of spring, especially if it was long overdue, that incites me to think about new beginnings. Like the new buds on the trees promising a whole new season of leaves, flowers and fruits, spring is a time for us to throw open our windows - and our minds - let in the fresh air, and let new ideas flow in on the warmer breezes of the season. It's time to put away our snow boots, get out our sneakers, and put a spring into our steps. It's a time to say, "what's next?"

This week I get to start a new part-time job that I never would have dreamed I'd be doing at this season of my life. For me it is a new, fresh, and exciting time to be out and about, to join with others to make the world a little bit better one step, and one child, at a time. It could not have come at a better time, when the trees, the bees, and all of nature is waking up to a brand new day and a brand new start. May your own spring be filled with the wonders of nature and the joys of new beginnings. 

And so it is.