Snow in April

So it's April 18th and it snowed today. Snow that stuck, not just flurries. But even if it was just flurries, it snowed today! April 18th! For god's sake it's almost May. Enough already.

This winter has seemed especially long and especially cold. It seems that each progressive year feels that way to me. Probably just me getting older.

There are a lot of things about getting older that bug me. I used to have perfect vision. I could hear when someone left a TV on in the other end of the house. I could sleep through the night without having to get up to pee. And speaking of peeing, now I can't sneeze or cough without peeing. All of my body functions are failing me!

I know that all of that is just part of growing older. And a lot of the time my joints and muscles ache like no body's business. But I can't get my brain to seem to understand that. Most of the time it thinks I'm still young. Oh, it takes me longer to find a specific word sometimes. And I can't write and talk at the same time anymore. But most of the time I think of myself as still in my early 20's instead of my late 40's.

I have had conversations with my dad and he feels that way too. I am beginning to wonder if your brain ever truly catches up with your body. Maybe it's a self defense mechanism. Like if your brain felt like it was old, your body would just give up.

So it's snowing and cold and yet daffodils are coming up in the neighbors yard and buds are out on the trees. So I guess spring really is here. It is such a beautiful time of year. I love watching how everything starts turning green and lush. It is a hopeful time. A new beginning. It's like the world letting us start over again. I hope that this year I'll be able to focus more on good things than bad. That I'll spend more time with the people I love and less time worrying about things that I can't change anyway. That I will take the time to appreciate the world around me and the beauty that is in my life instead of complaining about my large thighs or flabby arms. Because really, life is so short and most of us have such a small sphere of influence. And what's really important has nothing to do with how much money you have or how skinny you are or what kind of car you drive. What is important is to love each other. Support each other. Hold each other up. Enjoy more and stress less. Maybe this year I'll do things better.