Guest Author - Angela England

The True Spring - Spring is one of my favorite seasons, and when my bulb border comes to life, I know that Spring has truly arrived, regardless of what my calendar says. The calendar can lie, but my tulips always know when Spring has actually, truly come to my home. What do you rely on in the world around you to signal "spring" to you?
Spring is a Real Person - I think about Spring as an actual person. I have my own idea of what she looks like, moves like and how she sounds when she speaks, but I'm not going to tell you. Instead, grab your journal and your favorite pen (or pencil) and jot down your own impressions of Spring. If you had to write a character sketch about the season as though she were a real person (or is Spring a "he" to you?) how would you describe it?
New Beginnings - Of course spring is the time when we think about new beginnings. Trees display the leaves of the new year, animals have their babies, eggs hatch and the cycle of life starts over. What areas of your life have been dead or neglected lately? How can you give these areas new life? List five concrete ways you will renew yourself emotionally, physically and spiritually.
Learning Something New - And while we're on the subject of new beginnings....complete this sentence in your journal: "If time and money were not an obstacle I would love to learn....."
The Buried Things - Sometimes when I think about spring, I think about animals waking up from hibernation, or cold bulbs warming up and bursting up from out of their hidden places in the ground. Anne Frank said, "I want to write, but more than that, I want to bring out all kinds of things that lie buried deep in my heart." in the famous book The Diary of Anne Frank. What kinds of things lie buried deep in your heart? Are they things you want to bring out? Why or why not?
Babies and Little Things - What do you think of when you think about babies? That delightful newborn smell? Screaming and crying? It's funny to me that different people can have such varying and strong opinions about babies. What events in your childhood or teen years influence how you feel about babies now?
April Showers and Spring Rains - I love the sound of a good spring rain. To me it just seems to wash the air clean. How do you feel about rain? Describe a recent rainfall. What do you remember about the smell? The sound? How did you feel during the rain? What happened afterwards as a result of the rain?