Is It Spring Yet?
Episode 017
Script
Welcome to the Plan for Wonder Podcast. I’m Crystal the talking head, founder, and creator of myLife Planners dot CA.
Sitting in my untended garden Look up in the sky and what do I see?
Well the sky of course! But get more descriptive and it can range from blue skies to cloudy and gray.
After over six months of the end of fall and a weird and long winter, I know I am not the only one itching to get outside and feel the warmth of the sun and listen to the sounds of birds and leaves blowing in the wind.
Here in Calgary, it’s kind of a stop and start seasonal transition. And I am always blown away by the shock and awe of those who also live here, that we don’t have spring yet.
Hello! It’s only the beginning of May. We all know not to plant ANYTHING in our gardens until after the May long weekend. Unless of course you are an amazing green thumb who knows the tricks and has the set up for early planting.
It’s my birthday week and after 50 years it has always been sunny and nice on my birthday. Except for once - and because it was sleety snow, a close family friend couldn’t golf that day so she was able to attend my 21st birthday dinner. It seems mother nature makes adjustments just for me and that is how I like to look at it.
But after my birthday - bring on the cold and snow. It isn’t unheard of to have the city shut down when a big dump would come.
Now tack on the unpredictable nature of the climate around our world and tack on even more Bermuda triangle weather in the region of Canada I call my home.
Not to get too caught up in the diatribe of whining about the weather. But I do yearn for the energy the spring weather infuses not in just the biodiversity around us, but in our own homes.
It’s time for the annual spring clean! It will range from home to home what that means but for me it’s :
being able to open the windows and circulate fresh air in the house.
finally dealing with the random projects around the house.
actually wanting to scrub off the grime on the windows so I can enjoy the view of my backyard.
wandering around my backyard in bare feet and observing what is growing and what plants need some TLC.
clearing out random stuff that has been taking up space that I never actually use.
and instead of dreaming about what I can grow in my garden beds - actually working on it.
And you know this is just the tip of the iceberg of work to manage a household. Who knows what I will accomplish but I know for a fact nothing will get done unless I make an effort to plan for it.
This is why when I developed the myWeek planner that Saturday and Sunday are provided as much space as any other day of the week. Because of this main point. Enjoying our homes and personal lives are why we put in so much time to being productive. What that productivity achieves can range from a earning a salary and income to simply producing basic necessities for living; food and a safe space for us and our loved ones to live and thrive.
Speaking of basic necessities. I am in a situation like so many others who are using our freedom to choose who we buy our groceries from. I used to say that going to Costco was a practice in never leaving with spending less than a couple hundred bucks because most items cost between ten and twenty bucks. I am now feeling the same when I walk into a corporate grocery chain store. Forget counting pennies! I’m counting dollars.
So this spring I am very excited about being able to source out local producers at markets, farms, and smaller independant grocers. This isn’t going to be easy, especially when our family shares one vehicle in a city that requires it to trek and find out of the way spots.
So it’s important to have a calendar system that I share with my family to tag when I need the car. Because I am, our whole family is set up with apple devices and accounts. Sharing our calendars in iCloud is amazing for knowing what my kid’s schedules are and planning in family events. I like to use the car emoji in the event title to easily identify when I need to claim the car.
I am also expecting that my system for meal planning is going to be changed up in a bigger way. I’ll be focusing on seeing what I can purchase within a spending limit and focusing on basic pantry items and cooking from scratch. And what I cook will be less on what a recipe requires and more on what I have in the pantry to work with. I do that normally anyway - but it does require more time. Buying pre-packaged food is a practice in choosing to free one’s time in the kitchen. So whatever works for you and your lifestyle I know you are the best to make choices for you.
So I expect to be utilizing myLife planners to plan in grocery hunting and kitchen prep and cooking. With the way prices have been raised, the justification I had that less time in the kitchen would be more time I could spend in my business isn’t panning out as a benefit.
Needless to say, this spring is bringing up some changes and I think that is what I love best about this time of year. It’s the joy in change. For so many, the unknown element that change brings can feel not only daunting but uncomfortable. But like the saying goes, “The more a change scares you, the more likely it is that you should be doing it.”
I know for myself the ideas I have for my backyard are daunting. But sitting down in the sun today with my cat curled up on my chest, I looked around and know that even by making time enough to choose one small section of my yard to weed and clean up. After a few days I will begin to see the results of my efforts. It’s about patience and consistency. And enjoying the joys in that moment that I do have a home and a backyard space to care for so those I love can enjoy it. And even more important I can enjoy it too. So instead of looking at the space as a work project, why not change the story to as a space to create and help life grow.
And with that, thank you so much for listening. I am so grateful that you have made space for Plan for Wonder in your day.
And to wrap things up, I want to reminder you that:
The space you take up in the world matters, not just to me, but even more importantly, you matter the most in your own life.
