… and forget-me-nots, and dandelions, and wood anemone, and bluebells…

The small things are my miracles, really. I have written it before, and will, no doubt, write it again: it is the small things that give me faith and hope when everything seems a bit bleak. They are my mustard seeds, which help me to believe that goodness and growth are still entirely possible. This week, in their joy-bringing work, my small things have been up against the obstacles of disillusionment, exhaustion, hurt, confusion, and, that old chestnut, the patriarchy… I suspect most of us have been in these tough places at least once or twice this week, what with the general state of things the world over. Nevertheless, there have been some beautifully human pieces of writing, Netflix shows and daily experiences that have carried me along with joy still bubbling and hope still hovering. Also, it is SPRING, and I think by now we all know how I feel about flowers, and blue skies, and general greenery…

I have found some great writers on Substack, whose good humour, intelligence, sensitivity and wisdom I am very much enjoying. These include:

• The wonderful Amy Liptrot, whose book, The Outrun, I wrote about here. Her latest piece about sobriety and writing reminded me that there are many strong people overcoming hard things. We do not fight alone, and creativity can be our friend in challenging times.
• This very amusing and charming piece by Harriet Evans. I enjoyed the humour here, and I could also so relate to her feelings about Wuthering Heights and the Brontes in general.
• Poet, Alex Dawson, whose poetry is poignant, clear-thinking, and so often cuts to the heart of key issues. I particularly liked this, this and here is one more.
• Alice Wild‘s feminist writing, especially this piece.
• Ash Kilback’s work at Poetry Outdoors, including her lovely, weekly, Mary Oliver inspired poetry prompts.
• Charlotte at Blank Canvas Post has such a positive, community focused energy and is providing a great platform for other writers.

I have also been watching the final season of Queer Eye, crying and laughing my way through it and just soaking in all the love – of people and of life – that the show embodies.

My reptile friend, Lenny, seems to know it is Spring, too, and is much more active again. When I sit in my son’s room at bed time, Lenny comes to the glass to see me. I love the calm company of animals, and I am increasingly becoming the eccentric animal lady. I was given an absolutely joyous welcome by my sister’s dog the other day, which made my day in the middle of a busy, rather strained week. And I was fascinated to see the first shed of my son’s praying mantis, who is both beautiful and ferocious. And our old dog, Jamie was an absolute delight to watch at the beach, despite his aging little body.

This week, we had worked on an RE assembly at my school, and it was an absolute joy to see all the different people come together to make it a celebratory and unifying time. We had a video link to a school in Spain, all the classes had made palm leaves to wave, people had lent costumes and props and a lovely lady came along from the church. We sang together, and thought about the hope of Easter for Christians, and of Springtime in general. It was a tiny bit mad, very colourful, and just seemed to bring a lot of smiles.

And then, there has been the spring weather and the flowers. We have still been getting frosts over night, which make my early morning visits to the chickens and goats absolutely stunning, with white across the field, mist rising and the sky lighting up. The birdsong seems to FILL the air. The trees seem lit up. And every day there are more flowers appearing in the hedgerows. I even saw the first bluebells of the year this week. The days have been warm, and we are back to leaving the doors open, drinking coffee outside, water play and, that annual milestone of milestones, drying washing outside!

I have had to wait all week to get down to the beach, but we made it yesterday, and as always, it was so freeing to be in the sea air and feel sand under our feet.

It was World Poetry Day yesterday, and with all this week’s joys in the midst of the world’s struggles, I am reminded of Mary Oliver’s poem, Don’t Hesitate.

What has been bringing you joy, this week?