Spring Fling

I’m so excited to be participating in The Highway Café’s Spring ‘Tastic blog tour, where so many talented authors are sharing their ideas about this time of year. Brainstorming for this tour actually inspired my last blog post, as we threw around the idea of new beginnings at that time, and I figured that would be a great lead in to this post.

So here is my take on spring. Check out the other posts for this tour with the link below. J

My daughter was going through her closet this morning and found her karaoke machine tucked neatly in the corner. When she asked me why it was in there, instead of in its usual place – sitting untouched in my family room – I explained that it hadn’t been used in a while and though she could use it whenever she wanted, it had to find a home. She was less than thrilled, but I was happy to have one less thing to dust.

I’m not sure what it is about this time of year that always makes me want to throw things away. During the colder months, I’m happy to hibernate. A few extra toys or books around don’t bother me. But as soon as the sun starts to shine into my windows and I can turn my heat off, it’s like a switch flicks inside of me and I want to toss away everything that does not have an immediate use. Cabinets get emptied, closets get purged of unworn clothing, and toys that haven’t been played with in a long time magically disappear.

I don’t think I’m alone in this. It’s an inspiring time of year, at least here in the northeast where people start emerging from their houses, enjoying the weather as they go to playgrounds and ball games. They chatter as if they haven’t seen each other in years. Maybe they’re happy because they’re doing the same thing I am. Throwing away the old to make room for the new. Leaving the winter doldrums behind and welcoming the spring flowers (and showers, as we’ve had many so far).

It’s not just physical stuff, either. In spring, I’m more motivated. I want to clear the cobwebs in my head, not just my closets, and accomplish things I’ve been putting off. Fling the old ideas out the window, get rid of the things holding me back, and move on.

I’ve got a few new plans on the horizon. Doing a mental spring cleaning will free up lots of time to help make these plans successful. And who knows what wonderful thing will fill the space where there was once a dusty karaoke machine?

Do you ever do a mental spring cleaning…or a physical one? What kinds of things do you toss away? What do you make room for?

Somewhere on my website, www.kkweil.com I’ve hidden an egg. If you find it, leave a comment here letting me know and then go to The Highway Café’s site at http://transcanadaromancewriters.blogspot.ca/2017/04/spring-tastic-tour.html and leave a comment there, saying where you found it, for a CHANCE TO WIN A “BASKET OF BOOKS”. Don’t forget to check out the posts by the other wonderful authors on the Highway Café’s Spring ‘Tastic Tour as well and enter for more chances to win!

New Beginnings

There’s a tree in my front yard that sits bare for the entire winter. When the weather starts to get warm, it blooms. First, with small white flowers and then, about a week later, they turn the most lovely pink. Though spring officially began weeks ago, it’s the blooming of that tree that means it’s really here to me.

We look for a lot of moments throughout the year to start over. January first screams resolutions, a birthday means starting a personal new year and spring breathes life into so many things in nature. When I noticed my tree this morning, I thought of just that – a new beginning.

Each day, I bounce back and forth between enjoying my writing and my other job, teaching. But for over a year now, I’ve been remiss in doing this, keeping up with my blog, sharing my thoughts. I’ve been toying with the idea of revamping my blog to make it more interactive with readers and writers. Because of this (or maybe because I’m using it as an excuse), I’ve neglected to keep up with writing regular posts. I told myself I’d begin again when the New Year came, but that didn’t happen. Then I set another date that was meaningful to me, but I didn’t do it then, either.

I think it’s human nature to do that. Put something off because the timing isn’t perfect, or it’s not exactly what we want to it be. I’ve done that more times that I could possibly count. What I realized today is that it doesn’t need to be some special date, and all the stars don’t have to align. I just have to do it. Sit down, even if it’s not ready, even if my interactive blog idea isn’t flushed out yet, and write a post.

So here I am. Ready for my new beginning. Or my re-beginning. Hopefully, like my tree outside, it will bloom into something lovely.