It’s cold, but I don’t care because it’s sunny. The day is a pretty one. Earlier I was on the deck cleaning and filling the bird bath, and the birds flew by my head to the feeders and one nearly got me. I ducked. If birds can laugh, that one did.

My body aches and my bones crack. Lifting heavy stuff hurts my back. I like naps. I’m older than I used to imagine I’d ever be when I was young but being older is far different from I thought it would be. I’m not sitting in a rocking chair on a porch. I don’t wear a house dress or shoes with clunky heels or an apron if I’m working in the kitchen, though I probably should as I’m messy. I don’t even have a hat with flowers. I’m not thrilled with all those aches and pains, but with aging came an epiphany. I realized how much I’ve gained as I’ve grown older. I think everybody does.

I never really noticed all the best parts of spring. When I was a kid, I just figured it was time to ditch the winter coat and haul the bike out of the cellar. Now I see so much more. Every morning I notice the new flowers blooming in my garden. There are five or six hyacinths, all different colors spaced as if on a palette. The yellow dafs are so bright I almost want to shade my eyes. The tulips are beginning to make an appearance. I never tire of watching the birds. I love the smell of a spring morning. I can sit on the deck for hours reading books and watching the world.

I am slower now, and that has made all the difference. I get to see what is happening around me. I get to watch spring unfold a flower at a time.