Spring Awakening

Silver white winters that melt into springs, these are a few of my favorite things...

I really need to update my ipod. Yo Yo Ma's version of this song from his Christmas album came on the other day while walking to my office. However, it did remind me how often I forget about the simple pleasures in life. And to cheer the bleep up.

For some reason, I always get the blues at the very end of winter. Not the regular humdrum in the middle of January, when the holidays are all but forgotten (except for the extra 5 pounds gained from all the sugarplum feasts of the month before.) Always when winter is still fighting to hold on to it's last freezing breath before the warmth and renewal of Spring.

I used to blame this on the increased viewing of Academy Award nominated films -- I think it's a prerequisite to have films that make you want to stick your head in the oven as Best Picture nominees. However, I was a bit lacking in getting all my films in this year. I'll blame the increase in nominations, but really, I just couldn't bring myself to watch Precious. Still haven't.

Anyway, humdrums aside, Spring has sprung! And with it, a little glimmer of hope and a renaissance of dreams put aside during the long winter's slumber. Like the daffodils pictured above that I was certain I killed while debating the slim pickings of corned beef the night before St. Paddy's, sometimes we need a little pruning, a little nurturing, and a whisper of kindness to bloom.

It also never hurts to remember a few of your favorite things. A few of mine:
the warmth of freshly made copies, the smell of Lady Grey tea, the simple, unabashed love of a pet, a dollar bunch of daffodils splendidly in bloom.

Bare Shoulders + Sun = Love

Perhaps 30 is a little old to be discovering this, but as an eternally "plump" girl, I am not a fan of showing off my shoulders. It's not that I'm embarrassed by them exactly, but I'm rather horrified by my "hi-bye" upper arms. If you don't know what those are, they are the arm equivalent of a muffin top (and if you are unaware of a muffin top as a fashion faux pas instead of a tasty breakfast treat, well... good for you). The hi-bye arm is when you are waving one way and your arm flab is waving another. Yeah, I told you it's not pretty.

In a summer of record-breaking heat, this phobia of exposed skin can be a truly hindering and sweaty experience. But I dealt with it, chalking up another year of not having to get into a bathing suit or wearing short shorts and tank tops as a success. But then I went outside for a second in my tank top pj's.

Whoa. I literally stopped in my tracks --and my tracks were heading to the garage fridge for a desperately needed caffeine fix, so I was slightly alarmed by the reaction. The warmth hit me immediately, sending tingling sensations to an area so close to my head and heart but so often neglected (not that those areas couldn't use a little more warmth and sunshine, but that's a different story).

It reminded me of when I first went to see a massage therapist after a serious car accident. My back was all spasms and soreness so I thought that was the only area of pain. Boy was I wrong. Once she began working on my arms and shoulders a flood of built up tension started to release. Even my fingertips held onto the angst of my injured body. "You have an extremely high tolerance for pain" she exclaimed as she felt the knots within start to untangle.

I began to wonder if this was a good thing. Should pain really be something to tolerate? I couldn't remember a time when something wasn't injured; whether physically or mentally. Now areas that were "tolerable" of being mistreated and abused by me throughout the years felt like they never had before. It is amazing how much better you can feel when you are unaware of feeling anything else.

So that leads me back to my sun bathing in the backyard. I had no idea just how much my body missed spending a little bit of time in the sun rather than rushing past it to get inside to dimness and air conditioning. I don't know which is stronger in the great debate of nature vs. nurture in the grand scheme of things, but this morning I found a little bit of nature very nurturing.

Not to say I will now throw caution to the wind and wear things that expose my wobbly bits and frighten adults and small children alike. This small joy will have to be repeated a little more often; just as long as the dog and bees and flowers are my only companions.