Spring...Let The Attack Begin

 Spring...is coming.

Some would say, it's already here.

Let the attack begin.

When I say "attack," I'm not meaning anything on a grand scale, nothing involving troops or guns or things that cause major damage. No, the attack is in a micro-level and it involves pollen, sinuses, and diminished tolerances. 

It's my semi-annual battle with allergies.

It makes spring not quite as enjoyable as I can be, as it should be.

No--I'm not a "spring person," at least, not as an adult. As a kid, I loved spring. Spring meant it was closer to summer and summer meant going to Lagoon, swimming in the pool, hanging out at the Arcade, riding bikes and skateboard with friends, hiking the hills, going to Idaho for vacation. I'm pretty sure I had seasonal allergies when I was a kid--my siblings can tell stories--but I don't remember those. I remember enjoying spring.

Today, I walked outside to see if the raspberry starts we planted were alive or not. We saw evidence they were, or most of them anyway. I also checked some flowers we planted in the front yard. I snapped a picture of a dead rose. It's interesting...in one small yard in Northern Utah, there are signs of new life and signs of past life. In the coming weeks, we'll see more of the former and less of the latter. Such is life.

Yes, seasonal allergies are kicking my trash right now. I wonder, if I'm able to look back on this time thirty or more years in the future, will I remember disliking spring, or will I not remember it?

Time will tell.

One Week Down...

 One Week Down...

Seven days ago, my shell-shocked family sat on whatever piece of furniture that didn't have boxes stacked upon it, and we wondered just what the crap had just happened.

One week ago.

I remember waking up the next day, looking up at the ceiling for the first time. So much had happened in the previous couple of weeks, and there was still so much to do. It was a little overwhelming. Now, one week later, many of the boxes have been emptied and things placed in appropriate places. We've put up blinds and curtains giving us an element of privacy. We figured out the water heater, the air conditioner, and the outside lights. We're still figuring out the gas stove and the hot water in the kitchen.

We're tired, feeling exhausted every night as if our brains are working overtime to remember where we put things, remember what things are still in boxes, and remembering that we now live in a city of thousands, not tens of thousands.

It's been one week, seven days, one-hundred and sixty-eight hours, but at the same time, it's been a lifetime...

A new lifetime.

The first night here, the sky blazed. Since then, the night skies have been amazing, but they haven't matched that first night. Maybe, on that first night, it was just a combination of atmospheric pressures, moisture in the air, and light from the sun reflecting just so that created the visual treat we saw. Then again, maybe it was God's way of welcoming us to our new life.

I chose the latter.

New Life...

A few weeks ago a co-worker left for a new job. And he left behind a couple of plants. These are not huge plants, but small bamboo shoots. And as things went, I was able to adopt one of them.

I got the one that didn't quite look healthy.

I've never had a bamboo plant or taken care of one. I see them all over so I assumed they're pretty indestructible. I thought I just had to give it some water and let the thing come back to life. But after a couple of weeks, the thing didn't look like it was responding, and it didn't look like it's counterpart. That thing looked like it was thriving.

It was another co-worker--the one who got the other bamboo plant--who recommended I try a couple of changes. First she said I was watering it too much. I'm sure I was, but I thought a wilting plant needed lots of water. Turns out this isn't the best advice in some situations. Next she suggested I place it on the windowsill. She decided to put her's there, too.

After a few days I checked on my little plant and I saw a shoot of new growth. That made me happy. I don't know if it was the reduced water or the additional sunlight (sparse, as it is in the winter...) that is the main reason it seems to be on the rebound. I'm sure many out there know for sure, but I don't. Whatever the reason, I'm glad for the change. Hopefully this trend will continue.

Time will tell.