A Year of Gratitude – April 5, 2024

I was grateful for a bright and colorful reminder of spring today. My mom discovered the first forsythia blooms earlier this week. She made a beeline to snip a few pieces to bring inside before our snowstorm hit.

I was so glad that she did today when these bright and sunny flowers caught the sunlight streaming in the window behind the kitchen sink. They were exactly what I needed to be reminded that spring is on the way in spite of the heavy snow that we watched pile up yesterday.

It’s amazing how something small can make such a grand difference in my day. These little flowers held the power to brighten my day. Or perhaps they didn’t until I gave that power to them.

I could have overlooked these flowers. I could have seen them as just a branch from a bush that appears each spring near the wood’s edge. That’s what they are, but I don’t have to see them as only being that.

Instead, I can choose to see them as sunshine and light wrapped up in these delicate little petals. I can decide that they are glorious and decide that I am so lucky to have seen them.

So, that’s what I did. I appreciated them for all that they are. I celebrated their beauty. I reminded myself that there are beautiful things around us every day if only we choose to look for them.

And then I decided to root these stems and see if my mom and I can grow a few new plants to add to the farm. I could use more spring, more sunshine, and more pretty flowers to remind me of how much beauty is all around us.

This post is part of our A Year of Gratitude Series. You can find the introduction, inspiration, and entire year’s gratitude’s posts here.