What I am Looking forward to this Spring

Our winter in the desert is a beautiful thing. The weather is chilly enough to wear just a few layers of clothing, cool wind is perfect to calm the body after the sweltering heat of the summer, and our weather forecast is free of the crazy cyclones that seem to be circling our planet. As the wind begins to warm a little, however, the beauty of spring comes forward for just a little while. Today I am sharing with you what has my heart singing for in anticipation for our short spring season:

NEW GROWTH IN THE GARDEN

If you do not know, then now you do about my love for gardening. Our backyard is not bursting with vegetables like a traditional garden would be, although I am hoping that will happen one day. However, do not be dismayed, self. Maybe you are reading from a lush area where rain is abundant or from the tropical parts of the world where every corner has a banana tree. Our desert life is different entirely. I remember hopping off from the plane seven years ago into the small desert community with much excitement. Soon, I saw the dirt, stones, rocks , cacti, random bushes, and tons and tons of weeds. Even the backyard in the house was bursting with the green tips of this weed or that weed. In the middle of it all stood the lonesome mango tree, battered by the sun, a tropical tree in a not-so-tropical place.

Now, alhumdulillah, we have quite a few things growing in our backyard. During the spring, my heart jumps every time I see a new bud forming or new branches greeting the sky with their elegant hello’s. Last month, I planted two new trees and three new plants after taking a year off from planting anything new, so my eyes will be seeking for signs of their acceptance of our yard this spring. Some of our heat loving trees like the Ash tree and the citrus are showing promise as well which is also giving me hopes of more privacy for us, more shade for our chickens, and more beauty for everyone.

OUR SEVENTH ANNIVERSARY

Probably the most important event this spring for me is going to be our marriage anniversary. Seven years ago, I put a ring on my husband and flew with him from our hometown to his fairly-new home in Yuma, Arizona. The journey has been one of the best things in my life. We have went through quite a few health hurdles, family situations, and life changes.

Instead of giving presents, we have had this rule of giving experiences. So for this month, we will be heading just a few hours north to our favorite town of Scottsdale to experience the Opera in Phoenix. Okay, admittedly, I am not a huge fan and have been kind of annoyed by it throughout young adulthood. There was a channel that used to run on TV with classical music and whenever Opera came out, I found myself struggling to comprehend the happenings. Then, I started to avoid music altogether and all of those things went out of the window. My husband is not of the same goal so we find compromises in the middle. This Opera is not our first one. We saw Madame Butterfly about two years ago and with the addition of subtitles in the theatre, it was actually pleasant! This year is the Marriage of Figaro, on top of my husband’s wish list, and we are looking forward to a short getaway to see it.

FRUIT TREE BLOSSOMS

One of the things that truly bring joy to my heart is the ability to take things from our yard to the kitchen. Our very first experience was with the Moringa tree and I was hooked. I was motivated to plant more trees that give us a lot more in return and we have some tree friends in the back with the potential to provide food.

Last year, our pomegranate tree flowered for the first time but did not result in any fruit. There was one that appeared much later in the season and tasted… bitter, for the lack of a better word. I am hoping that it was just testing out the waters to actually fruit this year. Furthermore, our mulberry tree is loaded with berries waiting to ripen. Additionally, I am hoping to see fruit in the Mexican lime tree and Meyer lemon tree, the pink blossoms of Red Malaysian Guava, a few ripe offerings from our Fig tree and possible miraculous blooms from the mango. That last one is a stretch.

CONTINUING HERBAL EDUCATION

I had been taking in-person herbal course with our local herbalist which is going to end in a short while. That 8-month long course has been such a blessing and I have seen my passion inch towards herbal medicine and skincare. I am hoping to explore that more as I switch my attention to the online course by Thomas Easely. His Medicine Making course is a more refined basic course which I am sure to benefit from as he is a very well known herbalist in the western world and offers a course which my hypothyroid self can take from home.

Where will this take me? I am still wondering this while I explore it further. I know I want to make my own skincare as I already rely on herbal preparations for it for most of my needs. Will I also make it for others? That’s a thought that is in the back of my mind as I jump into Spring this year.

CLEAR MIND

One theme has been constant in my life ever since my diagnosis which is holistic self care. From physical, spiritual, and mental perspectives, I feel the body has to be nurtured through all of the different means in order to be functioning to serve our purpose in this world. I took that to another level personally by starting cognitive therapy with a psychologist.

I have done one session at the time of writing this blog post and have seen my perspective shift already. With the goals that I want to achieve through these sessions, I am looking forward to untangling the web in my mind and achieving mental clarity with the help of a professional throughout this Spring, insha’Allah.

RAMADAN!

I saved the best for last. How can Ramadan not be on this list? Of course, of course it is! My heart is ACHING and the spirit is YEARNING for spirituality. I hope that insha’Allah I make it to Ramadan to feel rejuvenated and get closer to Allah. In the podcast hosted by myself and Qudsiyah, Souful Latte Podcast, we have already recorded the Ramadan sessions and I felt my heartbeat quicken. It is going to be even more fun, I feel, with the added virtual community through the new podcasting platform.

Insha’Allah this Ramadan is better than the last and produces a better version of me than anything else has before.