Sprung

Spring has sprung
it's time to fly
on wings of sun and earth and sky
I hear the Robins' chorus sing
Spring is here
It's Spring
It's SPRING!!!

I wrote that in elementary school.
I still feel that way about spring.

The sun and earth and sky feel a bit farther here and I feel a bit as though those wings had been clipped. You can't spread your wings when there are houses and cars and parking meters and people in the way.

I want to walk down to the lake and listen to the geese and ducks coming back from the south, to find the little green plants peeking through the slush and water and mud, to watch the water rushing through the coulee, to find the piles of ice on the lakeshore where the wind pushed them.

I"ll never forget the warm spring night we walked out into the pasture hills and I could feel the warm and cool air currents caressing my face as I walked through them. The Northern Lights came out and as they danced eerily across the sky a flock of ducks flew overhead, just low enough that we could hear the "whoosh" of their wings. It sounded like the northern lights...airy and surreal.
I want to hike up to the hillsides and see the crocuses blooming....hundreds and hundreds of little fuzzy pasque flowers covering the dried prairie slopes.

The crocuses here are in neat, bright little rows edging our flower beds. Also we have an abundance of little blue flowers coming up in our yard and flower beds. And the potting plants are out at Lowes which means I can plant things soon. Hooray!!!

Purposeful puzzling

There is purpose in these puzzles we live. The peace of leaving Mountain Gear assures me that my decision to leave was wise. I do not know how to change the business practices that I cannot agree with. I do know that the stress of answering phone calls from angry customers has contributed to the tension in my back. I hope to find other employment that is less stressful and I have not forgotten the dream of a place in West Central for kids to participate in the arts.
I am discovering that sometimes wounds do NOT heal as I thought they had. I remember jumping off the dock at Camp of the Cross in summer 2003. The dams further south had been raised and enough water released to lower the water level to around 3 feet. I discovered this as I landed hard and felt my ankle turn as I hit the mucky bottom. I may have had the camp nurse tape it for me and I limped around after my campers the rest of the week. I assumed it simply healed.
Apparently not. Jon and I went to "V for Vendetta" at the IMAX on Friday. I had a tension headache when we went into the movie and that is all. When we walked out my foot hurt so much I had to limp back to his apartment. This is bizarre and has never happened before, but the chiropractor explained that with chiropractic therapy comes increased nervous system function. For me that means a three year old injury feels as if it happened last week.
And I thought I had a high pain tolerance. So much for THAT thought.

rant

I am counting hours.
Before Christmas I fell into a decent seasonal job at a local outwear and outdoor equipment company. I signed on as a call center representative after Christmas. The pay sucks but the employee gear discount is sweet. Then I realized how the corporate world works. I realized how much all the other employees dislike working here. I walked into REI the other day and realized how friendly the employees are and how nice the store is.
I could have continued at this job, but I didn't know a lot about myself and I didn't take the time to learn more about the company and those around me, so I huffily quit under the guise that I would spend more time searching for piano students.