Searching for Signs of Spring

Don't know what it is about January and February that depresses me but I've pretty much figured it's the weather. If August signals the Dog Days of Summer then January and February are the Doggier Days of Winter. Those of you in the North and Northeast have been buried under snow FOREVER and looking for a way to dig yourselves out of the mess. Here in Texas, it has been just cold and dreary. Not a bit of snow, just BLECH. Everywhere you go people are wearing their dark, wintery things and the warm tone of the holiday spirit we just experienced has disappeared. Personally, I have found my energy is low. The world seems gray and nasty. Color is just gone.

The stores are now stocked with Valentine's things...lots of reds and pinks and there is even heavy evidence of Easter stuff, too. Retailers are teasing us with the coming of spring and anticipation is building for the grass to green-up and the trees to bud. Sadly though, spring isn't here yet. We'll be trudging through another few months before the world begins to look a little brighter. A week or so ago, I headed out to run errands and while piddling around in a cosmetics department I found this BEAUTIFUL pink nail polish. Normally I don't bother with it because I'm home all the time and behind my computer. Guess I figure, who do I need to impress? Anyway, the polish caught my eye because it was nestled among all these darker, bolder colors...purples, blues and dark greens. That pretty pink polish practically sang to me. Naturally, I had to have it and I was so in love with the spring color that I immediately did my nails. To me it was like putting Easter eggs on my nails and my mood instantly soared. Just a simple thing.


I'm thinking now that color is key, at least for me, in finding signs of spring but other things play a part too. Listening to The Beach Boys makes me think of summer. The scent of watermelon does too. Little things can take us into a different time and place. Simple things like burning citrus candles could help and I'm seriously tempted to head to the florist for a bouquet of something pretty and bright for my favorite vase. Spring is out there seductively whispering in my ear but Spring is also a slow-poke. A little nudge might be just the thing. What little things do you do to bring a little sunshine into your life?