Springtime starts

Well folks, it's been a long, dreary winter and I'm not nearly foolish enough to think we're in the clear... but the sun is shining and the birds are chirping and the flip flops have come out of hiding. For a little over a month now I've been on a reduced-internet consumption diet, focusing on starting my day without firing up the computer and spending time in (ooooh ahhhhh) reflection and practice instead. I retooled my morning routine to include time journaling, reading, walking, and flossing. Yep- you heard me- flossing. It could be the excitement of new habits, or that they were on sale, but I even bought two rolls of floss. Two! Like... I might do this forever from now on! Can you imagine that? Even I knew this meant I was serious.

So regardless of the weather I spend at least 20 minutes on foot in and around my neighborhood, greeting neighbors along the way and enjoying sightings of odd birds, bushy-eared squirrels, and the ocassional child in a tree. The latter are the best. I've also been paying more attention to the houses around us and thinking a lot about the way I had hoped to have my own sometime soon. It might sound strange but I've been slowly realizing just how much is must cost to have and maintain a house. From the cost of landscaping to repainting, installing windows or a fence for the yard- it must add up at a dizzying rate. And here I had been thinking Mr.Mr. and I should consider buying something between a live-in-ready and fixer-upper type house. Ha! Perhaps not. It has given me a different type of respect for homeowners who are able to make ends met between their family and the roofs over their heads.

And oh the reading! The local library is a short walk from our place and I've once again begun my love affair with all books borrow-able. The possibilities are endless. My library card is like a secret weapon. Thyroid problems? Check the library. Want to know how to build a birdhouse? Check the library. Have an odd, unidentifiable ant army taking up residence in your houseplant? Check. The. Library. True, true- it's not as fast or easy as the internet. But it's worth it. Trust me. And I've regained the understanding that reading someone's work and experiencing a resonance in their writing, their word choice, or their sense of humor- can be enjoyed simply and on its own. The blogs I've followed over the last three or so years have a lot to offer by means of inspiration, insight, and information... but books don't give me that illusion of being connected to the writers. I can be seduced by prose and poetry, cleverness and craft, for that joy alone.

So perhaps I'm back? In bits and pieces.