Signs of Life

by Kelly

It never gets old.

Those first courageous little buds...the joy and delight in spying those first signs of life in the garden. Honestly you guys...this is what I live for.

It's comforting to know that I am not alone in this.  Everyone is talking about Spring....or well rather, how we are eagerly awaiting Spring's triumphant return.  We've been sharing it here at FOL...it's all over my Instagram feed...it's laced into every other conversation with my mother and my next door neighbor.  We are all. so. ready for Spring.  So ready for warmth.  For color.  For life.

The anticipation is very real.  Because in my head I know, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that Spring will return.  But what makes it hard is when it doesn't feel that way. It's like living in limbo.  Or suspended animation.

Rather than let this get me down, I am learning to embrace these in-between times in my life.  And I think it is because it's during these fragile transitions that the old and new coexist in such a special way.  Ends and beginnings share this unique sacred space.  To me these thin places are almost magical.  Because this is where hope lives...the yet to be fulfilled promise of good things to come.

I know that the calendar says that we have a couple more weeks until it is officially Spring.  And who knows how much longer it will be until it actually feels like Spring.  So in the meantime I'm going to hold on to hope and continue to keep my eye out for signs of life.

What about you?  Any signs of Spring in your neck of the woods?  We would so love for your so share them with us in our Flickr pool or with #focusingonlife on Instagram.

Until next time,  Kelly

In Search Of...

by Leigh

“Is the spring coming?" he said. "What is it like?"...

"It is the sun shining on the rain and the rain falling on the sunshine...” 

― Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

Many of you are still buried deep beneath the snow so my plan for today's post was to bring some spring to your computer screen this morning.  Colorful tulips, blooming trees, green grass….even on a computer screen this can help to lift our spirits right?  I mean…just check out the beautiful spring banner that Terri put together for us at the top of screen.  Those glorious spring photos bring a huge smile to my face.  So with a plan in place I set out in search of spring.  The only problem was that I couldn't really find her.  I looked in my backyard to see what I could find.  Maybe if the sun would come out from behind the clouds and melt some of the snow leftover from this weekend I could see the greening up of the Daylilies underneath their old dormant foliage.  Maybe (if there wasn't a layer of ice) I could catch a few songbirds enjoying a sip at the bird bath.  Perhaps if winter had happened on it's normal schedule I could find some buds on the trees.  Everything I happened upon was just as depressing as the winter itself.  I found a few crocus that had popped up, but their buds weren't open because the windchill was too much to handle (I don't blame them!).  I found the green of some tulips just barely popping up past the snow that has yet to melt on the north side of my house but that didn't necessarily scream out cheerful and uplifting.  I did see some growth on my Knockout Roses.  Finally a sign of spring, but upon closer inspection I realized that most of it was remnants of Rosette disease that is wiping our our roses around here.  Ugh….no…no…no!  This is not at all what I had envisioned.

My cheerful, happy, bring color to your screen and a smile to your face post was doomed.  Instead of offering some uplifting thoughts of what's to come I've just managed thoroughly depress myself.  Boo!

But then I thought of an idea….why not go through the archives!  We all know spring will come….eventually that is….so maybe seeing some of last year's color will help to brighten our moods.  It's March…it's time to spring forward (don't forget to set your clocks ahead this weekend!)…time to spring clean….time to spring to life!  (seriously..I could probably keep going with this, but it's getting a little bit cheesy)

TICKLED PINK!

 THE ANTICIPATION IS KILLING ME!

 FIELD OF BLOOMS!

FLOWERING TREE EXPLOSION!

I hope that I helped to put a little spring in your step.  And I leave you with two of my favorite spring quotes. The sun will surely start to shine.  The snow must start to melt.  Spring will come!  I promise.  So get out there and look for those signs of spring.  They are sure to appear soon!

No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow. -Proverb

Spring is nature’s way of saying, “Let’s party!” -Robin Williams

Anticipation

by Judy

an·tic·i·pa·tion

anˌtisəˈpāSH(ə)n/

noun

the action of anticipating something; expectations or prediction

When I first knew that everything was "a go" and that I was definitely able to meet my FOL sisters in Texas in October, the trip was ten months away. Such a long way off. Now, as I write this, it is exactly 10 days away!  By the time this post goes live on Thursday, there will only be 6 more days to wait! To say that I'm excited is quite an understatement. The anticipation of finally meeting all of the beautiful and talented women I am privileged to call my 'sisters' is simply beyond exciting!

In this day in age of instant everything and immediate gratification - a little (or a lot) of anticipation is a good thing. When we anticipate something we build up positive expectations, to relish how enjoyable the experience might be. Having something to look forward to makes you feel good. 

Really, today it seems that waiting for your vacation to come, a special trip, or the birth of a new baby are some of the few things that we do actually have to wait for. Technology has replaced waiting and anticipating in most areas of our lives. Maybe that's why the anticipation for this special trip is even more exciting to me.

Gretchen Rubin, a writer of habits and happiness, says that 'anticipation is a key stage in happiness; by having something to look forward to, no matter what your circumstances, you bring happiness into your life well before the event actually takes place.'  The anticipation for this trip has been a happy, welcome part of my life, after experiencing such a down time over the past couple of months. I am feeling myself again, and this wonderful, exciting, invigorating anticipation is part of the reason why!

So, you see the happy, smiling, beautiful women in the photos above? I have always loved these photos. Seeing all of my 'sisters' together made me happy.  But now that I know that I too will be spending time with them, well, when Terri sent these photos to me so I could use them in this post, my tummy got butterflies when I opened them!

I have immersed myself in anything I can find about the area we will be visiting.  I have double checked that I have extra camera batteries and plenty of SD cards.  I have figured out which lenses I will be taking, and have made a list of things to pack. Yes, the anticipation is building. 

I've heard many people say that sometimes the anticipation of something is more exciting than the actual event. Hmmm, I am certain that that will not be the case here. To visit a place I've never been, and to practice my photography with other like-minded people, well that's exciting in itself.  But the real joy will be to get to know these ladies I've had the honor of working with for the past two years. Meeting them will be the icing on the cake AND the cherry on the top!

I hope that all of you have something wonderful that you are anticipating too. Let your excitement build. There is so much fun in the planning, preparation and waiting. Let that be as much fun as the actual event!