Forgiveness

I often wax poetic about how Spring is a time of birth and/or regrowth for me, but I've come to realize it's also a time of forgiveness.  Yes, forgiveness.

Why? How?

I'll try to explain.

When Old Man Winter's white coat disappears, all those things it was hiding suddenly reappear. You see the deteriorating detritus of last Autumn's glorious colors, the long lost garden hoe that never made it into winter storage, the remnants of the kitchen scrap heap that the dogs and chickens have long since turned their noses (and beaks) up at, and the missing double stroller slinks out of it's hiding place. There's sticks and stones and dirt and leaves and (in my case) dead animal bones from some unfortunate creature the dogs found in the woods or the neighbor's fish gut/deer bone pile.  Yes, there's all this unapologetic MESS around us.

But Miss Spring is forgiving. She sends up little green blades of grass that before long are high enough to hide that muck and mess. She uses those old mouldering leaves as rich mulch that nourishes the acorns so new little trees can sprout. She warms the days so the garden hoe and double stroller no longer just lay about but are put to good and steady use.  She doesn't care that this messy world is there as Old Man Winter's snowbanks melt away. No, she just happily whistles with the songbirds as she rolls up her sleeves and gets to work with her own version of 'Spring Cleaning'.

And for me, Spring is a time for me to reflect on my own life and do some Spring Cleaning of my own.  I find it's easier to get in touch with friends I have lost contact with, rid myself of doubts and worries that plagued me all Winter long, and forgive myself for things maybe I could/should/would have done better.  I shake out my mental rug and try to shake the 'what ifs' with it.

Maybe it has something to do with the meaning behind Easter (which to me is the ultimate story of forgiveness) or maybe it's just this lightness and newness of the season as everything begins anew or maybe it's just a time for my own personal reflection.  I don't know.

Whatever the reason, it's there.

I know I feel lighter and newer myself when I let go of that hurt and anger.  Can you think of anyone to forgive in your own life? Even if they don't know that they've made you mad or hurt your feelings? Let it go and forgive. It's that easy.

Then sit back and enjoy the fresh, new Spring with a lighter spirit and a happier heart.

Tightwad Reminder!!

So it's April 1st but no April Fool's Jokes from this lady. Instead, I'm going to put out a little reminder that MAY 1, 2014 is the due date for any submissions for the Tightwad Round Robin.  So far, I have one person who submitted a tip and that makes for a rather tiny TRR issue, doesn't it?  So please, pretty please wrack your brains for tips, tricks, and tightwad hints to add so I can add some bulk to the good old TRR!

Come on, folks. We all like to save a few bucks here and there, right? We all have a favorite tip or recipe we'd like to share. Who hasn't had a brainstorm that you wished you could pass on?  Garage sale hints? Cheap supper ideas? Budgeting advice? Hand-made gifts and crafts?  Gardening tricks?  Creative storage suggestions?  Easy (and cheap) decorating tips?  Ways to turn secondhand trash into firsthand treasures? Send them on to me and I'll do all the compiling.

And as always, $2 per paper issue but free e-copies are available via email.  Just let me know which version you would prefer when you send your letter to me. Send your advice in the form of a letter, note, or even just a one line email to tightwadroundrobin[at]hotmail[dot]com.  If you want, I'll also accept your tips in handwritten form (letter, note, post-it, etc) via hand-to-hand transfer or the US Postal Service. If you really can't get it to me that way, then I'll take a verbal note via the telephone or face to face conversation (just make sure I have a pen and paper handy so I can jot down your contribution to the TRR). However, I don't accept smoke signals, or ideas sent via mental telepathy. 

Don't be shy! I look forward to seeing who sends on their hints for pinching pennies! Thanks much in advance!

Spring...Maybe?

Spring is always a wonderful time of year on the farm. Sure it's busier than all get out with fieldwork and planting needing to be done but it's still so much fun. There's baby calves being born, grass is greening up, and the world just seems to come to life. I love Spring because it's just an explosion of warmth and life and color. I look forward to it after the long dreary Winter.

But we're in that hard part of Spring. The first weeks of the season when things are starting to warm up but it's still below freezing at night. Snow still crunches underfoot in the early morning air but puddles and mud appear by noon.  Allergies flare up, there's child-sized muddy boot prints all over the house, and there's still always that chance of snow.  It's this part of Spring that I don't particularly enjoy. No snotty, drippy, sneezey noses. No slopping wet boots/hats/mitts/snowpants/jackets to tend to every time the kids go outside for longer than five minutes. No driveway that turns into a quarter mile of swamp for the whole month of April.

And yet, I can't find it in me to dislike this part all that much. Yes I wish I could just sleep through it or that Daylight Savings Time would spring us past this mucky, yucky stage of Spring, but I always stop and think that this is just another part of the year and once it's passed, I'll enjoy the warm sunny Spring all the more.  Kind of like biting into that first strawberry of summer. It's so ripe and juicy and oh so worth the wait.

Writer's Block

I know I haven't been posting very regularly but I've had a bad case of writer's block. I'd sit here and absolutely nothing would come to mind.  Sure there's plenty I could write about. Like how much snow we have (LOTS but not as much as some) and how Spring Calving Season is literally ready to start at any moment (already did if you count that heifer two weeks ago) or how my kids are growing in leaps and bounds (time to move them up a size in clothes) or how little farm 'stuff' there is to talk about right now (s-l-o-w time of year).

But somehow none of it seemed to spark my interest.  Still struggling with what to write so I'm letting my fingers go tippy tapping across the keyboard and we'll see what comes of it.

......

Not much apparently.

Better luck next time? I can only hope.