Ginger Kenney

Spring  has officially arrived, and I must say I am so happy to see it come this year. It has been an unusually snowy year in WA state, which for me at least, seemed to make winter interminable this year.  My beautiful little purple iris, which normally bloom in February are still in bloom now.  The days are long now, and the extra daylight is a joy to experience, though it always catches me by surprise. Today is a dreary, gray day, and the rain is coming down steadily. Still, I know that the weather will improve, and that soon the plum trees that line the street will be in bloom.

Next month the tulip farms in the next county will open to tourists, and the country roads will be lined with cars as we who have lived with months of gray, punctuated by intermittent glimpses of blue sky, drink in the vibrant colors that fill their fields all too briefly. Spring has taken on a new meaning for me this year. The state of the economy has impacted all of us, and if we watch the news it can be difficult to retain a sense of optimism. I know, at least for myself, that if I lose that sense of optimism, life could become a self- fulfilling prophecy. This spring, which has already begun, can also be the beginning of a rebirth in this country. We can choose to reinvent ourselves, can choose to support people who have neve before needed or asked for our support, can choose hope over fear. At the risk of being repetitive, what will you choose?