HELLO SPRING

Well today is the first day of spring although you wouldn't think so by looking out my window. It's pouring rain right now, which is something we haven't seen in quite the while. We have had an amazingly cold winter with a lot of snow, and I have loved every minute of it, much to the dismay of some that probably want to murder me every time I grin like a kid when the flakes start falling. But I can't help it, I am a lover of the seasons and each one of them gives me pleasure.

So that said, I haven't written in awhile. My life has become a circus of sorts with me running here and there and everywhere. Between work, kids and volunteering, it doesn't leave much time for me. And considering we only have one laptop in the house, by the time I can get a few minutes to write, it is being utilized by someone else. But, thanks to the rain falling outside and no kids around for the next hour, I finally have a chance to jot down a few words.

I have had a very interesting and fulfilling month so far. I was able to cross a few things off my bucket list, one of which consisted of me flying in a helicopter which has always been a dream of mine.

The maple syrup production was a great success after burning the first batch ( I'm still scrubbing the pot ) and life is moving along quickly. Many things have happened this past little while that have not only served as reminders that it pays to follow your inner voice ( and by pay, I don't mean money ) and that when you follow your dreams and make choices in life that are always working towards what makes you happy, down the road these dreams can come true. It doesn't mean they always will, but the journey itself is all part of the tapestry of life. When I look back on mine so far, I can see how every decision, failure, disappointment and difficult choices, has led me to the place where I am now. I love my life, I love my family, and I make sure to treasure all the moments that bring me joy and happiness.

The other weekend, after training in the Cormorant Helicopter, my husband and I went on a really fun afternoon road trip. It was a gorgeous warm, sunny day, where the snow beneath the trees glinted in rainbows of sparkles. We hiked in to a lake and were the only ones there to enjoy the solitude. The pine trees towered above as we sat on a rock looking over the frozen lake. We were truly alone. The lake moaned and groaned and exploded with noise as the ice cracked and moved as the sun's heat beat down on its surface. To try to even explain the immense silence, only broken by the sounds of the ice and the wind in the tops of the trees can only be summed up in the word perfection. It was one of those moments that I will remember forever. True bliss. Nature, trees, lakes, sunshine, my husband, who is also my best friend in the world,  I just can't imagine anything more satisfying than that. Life is short, but life can be good, because it's just really all about the effort you put in to make it that way. It's these moments of perfection that give us the strength and fortitude to make it through the times where darkness descends. Because no one on this earth is without tragedy or sickness, dark times and struggles. It's part of life. And there is only one outcome for each and every one of us. And even though face book, and media depict the opposite sometimes, and make us think everyone else's life is perfect,  this isn't reality. So live your life to your own fullest potential. Turn your face to the sun and feel its heat. Listen to the birds in the forest and the wind through the trees and breathe deeply of the fresh air around you. It's right there waiting for you.

Nova Scotia big blue sky over a frozen lake. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else