Spring Cleaning

Spring is finally here! The tulips in my front yard are all in bloom. The golden sedum is glorious in its bright yellow blossoms. The peonies are starting to peep out on the week end and in three days, they are about ten inches high. The rain had left, the grass lushly green. The chirping of the robins (and I suspect the babies) on the eaves of the house wakes me up at dawn.
This has been a rather reluctant spring. The mornings in April were colder than expected and we got more rain with hail than expected. In fact we got floods in many areas in Canada especially in Quebec and Manitoba, up to May. The water did not only come from melted snow but also from downpours. We, in the Great Toronto Area have indeed been fortunate. Mother Nature has been kind to us. We did not get any of the tornadoes, earthquakes and tsunamis that other parts of the world experienced during the last two months.
However reluctantly, spring has indeed arrived. We are getting two-digit temperatures at least later in the mornings and afternoons. As the snow slowly disappeared a lot of garbage has become evident in the surroundings. Empty pop bottles and cans, cigarette packages, candy wrappers, broken twigs and dry leaves, dry grass and assortment of plastic and foam containers. It is time for a spring clean-up.
I find that as I grow older, the job of sprucing the surroundings of the house has become a tedious task. It is not just the cleaning up. There are the hedges to be trimmed, the weeds to be pulled, the fences that have to be repaired, the water troughs that have to be inspected and redone, the soil that has to be turned and fertilized. I could not have done all of these chores without the help of a couple who are close friends. Once all these had been done, I was able to sigh with relief and satisfaction. Ahh! It is indeed spring; a new beginning!
The cleaning up has also to be done inside the house. The winter clothes have to be washed and stored, the spring and summer things have to be put out. A thorough cleaning of closets and drawers is called for. It is time to go over those clothes in the closet that have not been worn for a while. They either do not fit anymore or so out of fashion. Many have faded out or are either too short or too long. Still, I am reluctant to put them in the bags for disposal for one reason or another. There are sentimental values that I am reluctant to give up. But these clothes are indeed filling up the closet and they have to go. Last year, I remember I gave away some of them reluctantly and I felt relieved afterwards. I am going to do the same this time.
The same is true with the things in my drawers. I have hundreds of greeting cards that I have accumulated all these years which I treasure. Many of them are already yellowish reminding me of their age. But they give me pleasure when I reread them and remember the people and the times when they were3 sent to me. Some of those dear friends have already passed away. The bottom of the drawers has already been broken due to the weight of these cards. But throwing them away is like parting with a part of my heart.
I also have countless trinkets in three big drawers of one of my cabinets. I have not worn them for a long time. Some of them are still in the boxes they are contained in when I received them. I have not worn them at all. I should have all of them in a garage sale.
I have hundreds of books that are gathering dust I have read most of them and I treasure them but they occupy much space. I have given away quite a number of volumes that were shipped to the Philippines. Or I should probably give away more.
I have piles of paperwork that were accounts of my work with different community organizations and projects. They really need to be discarded but as I go over them, I realize that many of them are confidential information. They have to be destroyed before I throw them away. But shredding also takes a lot of time and energy I can do only a little at a time. I should do some everyday instead of procrastinating in having this task done.
There are countless things that I know I should do to complete a spring cleanup not only on the physical or material aspect but also on personal relations. I realize have been neglectful lately in communicating with people who are dear to me or with whom I had some kinds of dealings in the past.
As we journey on the road of life, we develop deep ties as well as casual ones on the way. Some of them continue to be close due to proximity as well as common interest that draw us together. Others, due to distance are often forgotten unless the ties are really close that they continue through various kinds of communication.
Some people are very good communicators. They have very endearing ways of dropping lines or calling regularly to find out how you are. There are also those who are good “talkers” who can continue chatting over the phone from one topic to another, not expecting much response on the other end. There are the loyal ones who always sent greeting cards on birthdays and other special occasions. I have a few of those dear friends who have not failed me in thirty seven years.
I feel guilty about my “sins of omission” with some dear friends. There was one to whom I failed to send a card, one Christmas and learned that she passed away the next year. The grandson wrote to me telling me how she often talked about me to him. There is another who seemed to have moved to another residence I cannot locate her anymore.
There is that very deep feeling of regret, and loss when we neglect friends and acquaintances and then later on learn that they had gone. We grieve not only for the loss but also for the guilt of neglect,
I should really attend to my spring cleaning – list down all the things I need to accomplish and avoid putting off.
I will start tomorrow.