Spring Beckons but is Being Illusive While Winter is Persistent

Spring is just around the corner, right? Or for those of you in the other hemisphere, autumn is just around the corner. Here in Maryland, we are supposed to be experiencing a renewal with flowers blooming and trees leafing out and the warmth of springtime sun – where’s that been recently?!? We first of all had grey, dreary days and just within the past couple of days had snow with even more predicted! I’m hoping that the cherry blossoms are on schedule because we have a trip into Washington DC planned to view the blossoms and we’d like to have them in full bloom and not freeze while we walk around the basin.
Springtime is a traditional season of optimism, transformation and sunniness, isn’t it? It means that the fresh shoots of flowers and grass start to pop up, plus we have fat little robins running around our garden. Springtime gives us a time to get a fresh outlook on our lives and the whole world. Well, to celebrate the season of revitalization and my return to the US after Spain, one of my daughters and I have had a couple of mother/daughter spa treatment days (thanks to Groupon purchases. No advertisement intended, but I found a couple of good deals on facials and reflexology which I couldn’t pass up.) My middle daughter has found a bit of time to get away so she was more than happy to double up on the offers and join me for treatments.  Of course, lunch and a bit of shopping followed (note to our husbands – it was only window shopping!).

Our next rejuvenation adventure is a juicing and detox workshop at Whole Foods for mother (me) and both daughters. This is my early Mother’s Day present to both of them. A great way to make sure that our spring is healthy and that we are filled with energy is to prepare healthy juices. With all of the fresh new produce in the stores or at the farmers’ markets, it’s a perfect time to “spring clean” our winter diets.

I’m really looking forward to the workshop. I already know most of the more popular healthy eating tips such as not keeping any junk food in the cupboard; keeping fruits and fresh veggies handy and available for snacks; making salad (with no creamy dressings) and veggies a big part of meals; using smaller plates and drinking lots of water throughout the day but it’s always nice to have a reminder and have someone “nudge” you to remember all of these and to make them a part of a healthy lifestyle.

So while I’m spring cleaning my house, I’ll also be focusing on spring cleaning my diet. Although two days following the class, I have two weeks in Mexico with at least one cooking class planned. This is not the best way to begin – maybe both spring cleans will wait until after Cinco de Mayo!