4 Ways to Welcome Spring!

Spring is in the air! Experiencing it may be different this year, but spring is still delivering those healing vibes that we’ve come to count on each year. Go out and greet it!

These are difficult times, as we shutter our doors and wait out the spread of the COVID-19 virus. While life may not exactly feel normal these days, it’s important to do those things that make us feel joyful, peaceful and connected. Spring presents a sensory opportunity to seek all of those outcomes. 

The usual events that we associate with the springtime may not be happening this year. There may not be Easter egg hunts or religious services to attend. But the season comes anyways, and we need it this year. So how do we make it our own? Consider these tips for welcoming the spring.

Build It Into Your Routine

The COVID-19 outbreak is scary, heart-breaking and worrisome. We worry for those who are suffering and we’re concerned for ourselves. The threat of infection seems everywhere, and avoiding it has caused us to think in new, restrictive ways. Friends, neighbors and family members who we once happily hugged and welcomed we now wave to and avoid engaging with close conversation. It’s lonely to live this unpeopled existence.

While the CDC has been clear about steps that seniors should take to stay safe, having some time outside feels good and it’s good for the body and the spirit. As long as you have a safe place to go each day where you can sit outside and enjoy the weather, consider building that into your routine.

Ask your Visiting Angels Caregiver for help in creating a safe, outdoor spot for you to sit each day. Have your coffee outside each morning on your deck. Enjoy the sunset on your chair in the yard each evening. Plan daily time to absorb the beauty that is spring. It’s our gift for enduring the winter. We all especially need it this year.

Display It in Your Home

Pick spring flowers, or ask your caregiver to help you pick a bouquet. Buy spring flowers with your next grocery delivery or ask your Visiting Angels Caregiver to pick up some daffodils or hyacinth on her next grocery store run. Nothing brings the joy of the season like filling your home with the smell of spring flowers.

You may also consider asking your caregiver to help you put up some indoor or outdoor decorations to welcome the new season as it unfolds. Adding a bit of color and levity to the environment can be a big morale boost. Plus, it reminds us that even though some things are outside of the norm this year, it’s still springtime as usual. It’s a good time to get out all the seasonal favorites.

Enjoy Your Traditions

When we’re a little sad, it can seem like it takes extra energy to do those things that would be easy otherwise. But often when we push ourselves to do them, we earn a familiar benefit. It’s worth the effort. Do the things that feel like spring to you. Watch a sun rise. Make some hardboiled eggs and dye them beautiful colors. Make the deviled eggs that you always do in the springtime, even if it’s just you and your family caregiver who are enjoying them together. Embrace the season using what you have, even if that seems a bit difficult this year. When we make an honest effort, we tend to find that familiar benefit that we’re seeking. It may not look exactly how we expect, but effort tends to earn its reward.

Connect

Reach out to friends and family this spring. Call your grandchildren, nieces and nephews. You may find that the younger members of your circle are worried about what’s going on. They have not been through anything like this. They will appreciate hearing from family members who have weathered tough times. Though many things are closed, you are likely to find that new lines of communication are open. Reach out.

Also consider working with your caregiver to pursue Visiting Angels Social Care. This teaches you how to get connected on social media and how to use the internet. It’s a great time to learn some new skills for connecting. Plus, then you can post pictures of your Easter eggs and your lamb cakes!

Tom Waits famously sings: “You can never hold back spring.” That’s good because we need it this year. Happy springtime!