It’s officially springtime, which means that you’ll be
hearing from tons of neighbors, friends and family members about their attempts
to clean out and declutter their homes in spirit of the obligatory “spring cleaning”
ritual. I’m no different, as the season moves me to look around and consider
the state of my somewhat messy home with its residual clutter from the holidays
and the cooler months. On a good day I’ll work on a room or box up seasonal
ornaments that might be lying around, but that’s because spring cleaning means
more to me than cleaning house.
To me, spring is the ideal time to cleanse the mind, body,
and soul from the stressors that have plaguing me recently. It’s a time for me
to use the beautiful setting of the fresh spring season as motivation to look
at my life from a fresh light, to reconsider abandoned projects, to reconnect
with friends and relations, and above all to appreciate life with renewed
vigor.
In a family context, spring cleaning and the spring season
could mean any number of things. For parents, it’s a time to reflect on the
themes of birth and renewal that exist in every household. Some parents might
take the opportunity to celebrate the little ones in their lives as a way to
get into the spirit of the season. After all, the unparalleled joy of having a
child in your life is about the most obvious metaphor for birth and renewal
that I can think of, and it’s something worth celebrating.
Take your kids out
to enjoy the fine weather and nature of this time, or even take the more
practical step of enlisting their help to do some real spring cleaning around
the house. In either case, I highly recommend looking at this time as one of
joy and celebration.
Of course not everyone will treat spring with optimism. All
families have their fair share of problems, even those that look the least
hindered by issues, and the springtime is a good time to put familial problems
and anxieties into context. Spring reminds us about the cyclical nature about life;
it’s a lesson to remember, as it teaches us that things rarely stay the same
for too long, something which struggling families should take to heart.
The hope of renewal and new things ahead isn’t a luxury
allowed to only a few families, it’s something that every family can enjoy and
understand. You see the spirit in spring in the small victories of your
children; you see it in the devotion of your loved ones; you see it in the
success of a family that you’ve raised. All you need to do is look around and
smell the flowers.
How do you rein in the spring season with your family? Do
you take heart from the natural revival of life depicted in the season? Let me
know in your comments!
This guest post is contributed by Angelita Williams, who writes on the topics of online courses. She welcomes your comments at her email Id: angelita.williams7 @gmail.com.
