Carol's Corner

Spring – a time of fresh starts for trees, plants and bird families. As my husband and I drove to Edmonton at the end of April, we noticed cows in the pasture with calves by their sides. A friend of mine raises sheep and she has posted a few photos of lambs, twins, born in April.

Driving on the city roads means dodging potholes after the winter’s freezing temperatures followed by the thaw. Road crews have begun cleaning the streets in preparation for a cleaner city but also a time of road construction. Many things have a fresh start in this season. I thought about what my fresh start might be.

At the end of April I took some time to review events of the month and what I had accomplished towards my writing goals. I looked back at my blog and realized I had not posted anything since the end of March. How did this happen? I was positive I had made at least a couple posts but the evidence showed me I had not.

I felt I had failed. I needed to move on and not let this make me give up. I needed to bin my excuses, make an appointment with myself to write blog posts in May.

I mentioned in my last post that I am not a gardener. In fact, throughout most of my life, even indoor plants tend to not survive no matter how hard I try and look after them. But one Valentine’s day my husband brought me a small indoor potted rose bush full of gorgeous red blooms. I enjoyed every day that little plant bloomed. I watered it but not too much. I made sure it had the right type of light. But one by one the blooms faded, dried up and fell off leaving only leaves. I kept the plant around. I continued to give it water and light but did not remain hopeful that it would renew.

Imagine my surprise when I noticed a few buds appear on the plant and by Mother’s Day it filled with a multitude of beautiful blooms. They died. I kept hope they might come back and they did just in time for my birthday in July and stayed blooming until after our anniversary early in August.

I learned a lesson from that little rose bush to not give up on myself. To put aside the failure to post on my blog in the month of April and start new and fresh in the month of May.

How about you? Do you need to start fresh on a project that you put on hold or a delay in reaching your goal that has left you feeling the pangs of failure? It is spring and a time of renewal in nature. It can be a time of renewal in any area of our lives as well. Wishing you all the best as you reevaluate and refresh. May it be a time of new beginnings for each of us.