Taking Time to smell the tulips

We all need time away.  Turn off electronic devices.  Clock out of the office.  And just be playful.  

That’s exactly what I did the past few days by taking time to smell the tulips --- I shut down my laptop and logged off social media to spend time with family and friends over the long holiday weekend.  It’s always a treat to savor unscheduled time, doing whatever catches my fancy in the spur of the moment.  But spring is my favorite time of year to get away from it all.

Spring: perfect time to leave the grind behind

Pocket-sized cameras or smart phones capture unexpected moments

I take long walks around the lake, always with a camera on hand.  You never know what unexpected delights Mother Nature will find for you along the way.

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Relaxing with 'buds

There's lots to be done in the garden, too. 

It's great exercise to haul 40-pound bags of dirt and dig soil to  prep beds for springtime planting.   

Plus, I can be creative.  Garden art over-wintered in the garage is ready for its seasonal debut, and I arrange it however suits my fancy.

I pop in earbuds to listen to audio books while I walk or do chores.

 Multi-tasking this way appeals to me because I usually can’t sit still long enough to read a print book.

Garden art feeds creative souls

Squeeze in for hours of food, family and fun

We celebrate Easter in our family.  It is a busy, thoughtful season, but it is also a time of joy and sharing.  

For me, it's always been a time for singing with the choir (alto 1) in its BIG Cantata on Easter Sunday after weeks of rehearsals,   shaking the rafters with Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus to end the service.  

We crowd around the dining table for a multi-course meal afterward with family and friends that stretches over the afternoon.  There are informal 'intermissions' between courses, so we can digest and eat more.  Growing up, we picked at our fruit cocktail and sauced ourselves on the pasta dish, obligatory for an Italian family.  However, we slipped away to play during the main  course of Easter ham, but we always showed up for dessert.

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4 generations of egg decorators

If you celebrate Easter, do you remember those egg-decorating marathons?  And the Easter egg hunt? The entire family gets in on the fun.
 
One Easter, the eggs were hidden so well that the children never found all of them.  I like to think the squirrels enjoyed a special Easter treat that year.

Sharing Passover traditions

We've also been guests at our neighbor's Passover seder, learning new ways to share friendships and experience traditions of a different culture.

Happy Spring, Easter and Passover!

Whether you enjoyed an Easter ham, Seder brisket, or nature's beauty, I hope the peace and joy of your celebrations stay with you in the weeks ahead.

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Please join the conversation in the comment section.
What's your awesomest memory of spring and its special holidays?

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