Zombie Apocalypse, Anyone?

This sign is prominently displayed at the front of the radiology clinic waiting room right by the TV, but looking around the waiting room, every single person had his or her head buried in their own little cell phone world, fingers swiping. Does it bother anyone that our generation is incapable of sitting still with our own thoughts at all, not even for a short moment? That the minute we sit down anywhere for even a second we must have the stupid smart phone out and lose ourselves in that insulated little zombie world of the tiny screen? Does it even phase anyone how rude it is to pull out that dumb phone and show the top of your head to the person sitting across the table from you at a restaurant? Does anyone else feel a profound sadness when you're out somewhere and you see a family or a group of friends tecnhnically together, but effectually separate, not conversing with each other and barely even acknowledging each other, as they all hover over their individual little screens?

For all the talk about a zombie apocalypse, I think the time for fearing it is gone - we are already zombies. 

And the irony of the fact that I took this picture and am writing this post  with my phone is not lost on me. But at least I waited until I was home alone. :-\

Spring Joys

I think Spring is finally springing here in our town. I went away to Texas for a week during spring break and came back to beautiful white pear trees, daffodils and green grass. Ahhhhh. And allergies, sore throat, stuffy nose, dizzy head, stuffy sinuses. But that kind of goes with the territory, I guess.

Here are some things I love about Spring, in no particular order:

Birds singing in the morning. LOVE the birds. I didn't realize how much I'd missed them in the early morning until I heard them the other day when I was walking my dog in the dark hour before sunrise. There was a robin sitting on the corner of the roof just chirping and singing and I loved it. It's just such a HAPPY sound.

Green grass. It's amazing what a luscious, welcome sight green grass is after all the brown, brown, brown and white, white, white of the dead grass and snow. Every spring I'm amazed how quickly the grass greens up when the weather starts warming.

Daffodils and tulips. How I love the simple joy of seeing those cheerful flowers blooming. I drove by my old house yesterday just to see if any of the bulbs I've planted the past few years bloomed this spring. I'd forgotten just how happy those daffodils looked. It was lovely. I am thankful our house sold when it did since we have to move away this summer, but I do miss my yard and flowers and my warm, sunny back deck.

Mornings sunny and warm enough to sit on my little back porch before the sun goes over the building and leaves our back yard in shadow for the rest of the day. I've been having a lovely morning today sitting in a rocking chair on the back porch enjoying a cup of Irish Breakfast tea and reading my Bible. How I've missed sunny, warm weather.

The newness of watching the trees and flowers and grass come back to life. That never gets old. What a beautiful reminder of God's mercies, which are new every morning.

Getting to wear my capris again.

Celebrating Easter. Thinking about our Savior's great love and mercy and grace.

Talking with my little girl about how every season has it's joys when she asks me which one is my favorite. I honestly couldn't say any of them were my favorite. I love Summer with it's warmth and freedom; I love, love, love Fall when the weather cools and the air turns crisp and the leaves turn glorious colors, and camp fires and the indefinable something in the air as I walk the neighborhood and enjoy the scarecrows and corn decorations and everything that goes with Fall (ok, maybe I'm a little partial to Fall) - having grown up in Florida where we didn't really have a true Fall, I never get tired of that season; I like the first snow and the anticipation of Christmas, but I will say that winter is the one season that I do feel seems to drag on toward the end, especially in February, that longest of all short months, it's the one that I probably tire of quickest because of its overabundance of gray and dismal and COLD days, even though I'll never get over the joy of watching snow fall (Florida girl again); and back to Spring, which seems ever so much more of a relief after the harshness of winter. Florida girl again, but I didn't really appreciate the absolute joy of Spring and the anticipation of waiting for it until I experienced the real winter of the Midwest. Florida, for all the complaining about the few 'cold' days we had each year, does not experience WINTER.

And of course I mustn't forget walks with my little girl and her beautiful weed bouquets. She thinks they are beautiful flowers, and I'm not going to try to convince her otherwise today.

Happy Spring!