It finally happened this week; I saw the first signs of Spring!  Outside my window, I saw my first Robin with its magnificent red breast foraging around in the earth looking for tasty worms and other insects to eat.

That same afternoon, I went to the local Trader Joe’s and was greeted by an explosion of Spring flowers – daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, and azalea plants. I nearly wept with joy right there in the middle of the store to see their gloriousness blooming in every color of the rainbow. I heard the tulip plants calling out. “Take me home and let me brighten your day with radiance!”  I heeded their call and selected a plant with tulips the color of a spectacular sunset.  This jewel of a plant is nestled by a window and flourishing in the sunshine.

These signs of spring are small, yet I find myself savoring their presence and promise of new life after a long, dark winter. 

A Serious Frivolity

Bernadette Miller

Savoring the substance
of existence
is a serious
frivolity.
Someone must do it.

Someone must love
luminous hours when leaves
marry light and refuse
to stop
shining.

Someone must speak
the sweetness
of lilacs
before it is lost
beneath smog.

Someone must bask
in the beauty of blessing
because the news knows only
brokenness.

When you give yourself
to a particular place
the power
and peace
of that place
give themselves
through you.

So savoring the substance
of existence
is a serious frivolity.
Someone must do it.

Will that someone
be you?

May you savor the delights of spring and the blossoming of new life that is coming into being.

Marianne DiBlasi, CPE Intern