Spring Has Finally Shown its Face?

The sun is finally shinning upon us and I, for one, am totally and completely invigorated by it! I am thinking that maybe, just maybe, it's here to stay! Living in Pennsylvania the springtime season is anticipated like the last lap of the Kentucky Derby. We know it's inevitable but the final result is any one's guess. Growing up in North Carolina as a young child I took the climate for granted. Little did I know that one day I'd be living in the Northeast reluctantly peeling the layers one month at a time anticipating and hoping for the sun and the warmth that follows. We are teased constantly, with 90 degree days in April followed by freezing temps and frost in May when we should be completely confident in the thought that our newly planted seedlings will soon bring us joyful color and tasty vegetables. Instead, we are mandated to bring the pots inside for the night and cover the delicate blooms with burlap and hope for the best. Just when we think spring is here to stay, we're hit with the heat and humidity traditional to the deep south like some child took a wild spin of the globe and shifted the latitudinal lines just enough to make us think, maybe we really are in Kansas, Dorothy! That said, what will you do with your free time these next few weeks before the sweltering heat descends and the A/C switch is flipped 'til Trick or Treat? Here's a list of my hopefuls. While my to-do list will, of course, involve obligations relating to my first job of wife and mother and my second job here with Equilibrium Design, if I had 24/7 this is what I'd squeeze in between the sunbeams. Bike rides, shrub pruning, evening walks, home-made ice cream, strolls on the footpath at the park, dining al fresco, evenings in the city window shopping, bulb transferring, hammock swinging, splashing in a pool, floating on a raft, fishing in a stream, laying on the beach, reading a huge novel, painting the shutters, attending an outdoor concert, watching fireworks, visiting the winery, re caning my chairs, visiting Limerick Outlets, Hershey Park at night, skateboarding with my kids...oh, you get the idea... Make your personal summer "bucket list" and get busy! I think very soon, while we might get rained on here and there the warmer weather is here and I am going to do all I can to cherish every minute. You do the same! Miriam

Clear Your Calendar for Celebrations

This time of year is a time busier than no other, it seems. May, one of my favorite months, where life blooms around us, the sun shines more often than not and we begin to peel the layers and enjoy the warmth and the fun. There are graduations, weddings, baby showers, proms, recitals and parties galore. My calendar is brimming with commitments to just such occasions. These are life's milestones that must be and deserve to be celebrated. What tends to happen is we get on this fast paced treadmill of life and neglect to stop and focus on the occasion and it's pomp and circumstance. We also juggle the rapidly growing lawns and yard cleanup, the spring sporting schedules and anything else that we might have volunteered for six months ago that is now the catalyst for our sleepless nights; where we lay wide awake puzzling over why we've once again over-extended ourselves! I did learn the meaning of the word "no" a long time ago, however, I think the lack of it's usage is what got me into a frenzy this month! What I am going to do is take it one day at a time and I suggest you do the same. We have these wonderful life events to witness and joyously celebrate with friends and family. While the hub bub to getting us there can sometimes rob us of it's meaning, we need to make our arrival prompt and leave everything else behind. We must be present for our children, family and friends and celebrate with abandon. If we respond to an invitation to be a participant we must be present and mindful of the event and it's deeper meaning while we are there. Unfortunately, there are only twenty-four hours to each day, so sometimes we do have to juggle more than one event on any given day, but while you are in attendance, be mindful and represent your part in the happening. You were invited because you play an important part in some one's life and they wish to have you with them to witness their day. Do not take this responsibility lightly. You are creating a lasting memory for someone to whom you are very special. Enjoy your May festivities and honor the graduates, the newlyweds and the novice pianists! They will follow the footprints you have left ahead.

Mom's Day Should be Everyday

Well, now....Mother's Day is right around the corner and while it can be just another holiday to exploit in the retail business, it really has a significance if you don't get to see your mother every day and make every day Mother's Day, as it should be. When you're a mom and you are busy with the daily ins and outs of raising your family, dinners, carpools, doctors' appointments, play dates and squabbles, yes, I do agree that every day is, and should be Mothers' Day. But not in the way of constant mani/pedi's that you're thinking. Shower me with hugs and kisses; that's my gift. My cherished, warm, heartfelt hug that I get each morning, times trois, when my boys awake and again when they climb into bed is all I need to sustain me each day. Nothing compares. Sometimes I have to remember this when they are throwing living animals and sharp objects at each other. Well, it's not quite THAT bad but there are times during most days that I wonder how I got myself into this. Then I tuck them into bed at night and get that amazing hug and see the deep love in their eyes and I am reminded again. For those of us who don't get to give that hug each day to our mothers, this day is important. And it has to be important for just that reason. I won't see my mother on Mother's Day this year but I am sending her the love, the thanks and the warm hug via snailmail. I know she'll feel it. She's a mom. I don't think it's a feeling that you can ever forget because it comes from a love that you can't custom select from an online website or a personal classified. I love my husband, I did choose him. He's a great guy and he'll get his accolades on Fathers' Day. But those children...well, there is nothing that compares to the gift I receive each and every day from being their mother. So you Moms out there, if they shower you with flowers, breakfast in bed and oodles of trinkets, cherish it all with enthusiasm but make sure you garner your share of bear hugs and hold on tight for all you've got. There will probably come a day you'll need that memory to pull from when you're far from your children and they want you to feel it. Like I do this Mothers' Day. Love ya, Mom! Miriam