Ken Waddell

after a winter of activities. In some communities, there are gymnastics and Cubs, Scouts, Guides and many other activities. Playgrounds will be accessible soon. Soccer, baseball and swimming will be happening right away, along with camping.

While churches may not be as plentiful as they once were, many still have a Sunday School or youth program.

There is no excuse for anyone to be bored, at least not for a lack of work or activities. Money can be a limiting factor but a lot of activities are cheap or free.

The biggest limiting factor is attitude, be it the kids or parents. And if money is factor, kids can often find small jobs, it’s a time honoured method to find cash and beat boredom. For able bodied youth and adults, there is no shortage of jobs: Many employers are begging for workers. And admittedly, some parents find they are short of cash and that may be true. But don’t complain about being short of cash if you drink multiple cups of take-out coffee a day, spend money on alcohol, cigarettes, drugs or gambling. Rare is the family budget that can’t be stretched a little bit towards a better lifestyle.

The whole point of the above rambling is that while there are some real roadblocks, in most cases, boredom and money shortages are not as big a problem as a lack of ambition and imagination.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this column are the writer’s personal views and are not to be taken as being the view of the Banner & Press staff.

The breakfast conversation around spring equinox led to an investigation on where on earth is the tipping point. It is the equator, and the moment of the equinox can be defined right down to the minute. An imaginary line circling the earth determines the hour of equal daylight and no daylight hours. I truly don’t care who measures it, or where it is measured, I simply rejoice in the lengthening daylight hours! The other tidbit that came out of this investigation is that the actual sunrise and sunset are most rapid at the time of the equinoxes. That coincided with our observation last week about how brief a time there was between the sun setting and the sun being gone. Ha, how about that…

The lengthening daylight hours are so very meaningful to me. There is an increase in energy and willingness to get up earlier in the morning, and willingness to take a few extra steps on my walk, and, alas, a willingness to get to spring cleaning! That sunshine shows up the smudges and seems to highlight grunge…The room that received the brunt of my attention this week was the bathroom. The smallest, most inconvenient room to clean. There was a time when reaching behind the toilet was easy and, most times, this household basic is crammed into a corner. Oh, I got it done, down on my hands and my knees, reaching the furthest and farthest points. In my zeal, I removed the cover from the wall heating unit. Like, those flanges were dusty! I even got the vacuum cleaner with its pointy attachment to clean as deeply as possible. Reassembling the unit, I found that it had ceased to work, possible heat, but no fan. Considering my state of mind it was a miracle that I quietly once again removed the cover and left the room. (it’s working fine now- may have had the cover on too snuggly.) Tasks that once were little tasks are now chores!

I am getting the gardening itch. The geraniums that I stored away last fall have been watered, and the signs of growth are there, so they will come into the sunlight any day now. I am dreaming of gardens, flower and vegetable. There are very few plants that I even try to start, choosing to support the local green houses instead.

Just knowing that it isn’t dark at suppertime cheers me up. Breakfast is later in our home, so most mornings have not required lights on. Just the promise of another spring and summer have me more cheerful and optimistic!

* I want to thank all of you who have spoken to me about my musings. The one last week about MAID has elicited more comments than most columns. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and opinions. Over the years people have frequently asked me how I can write so personally, and why. The answer is that I write about what I know for starters and, when dialogue begins the comfort of knowing that we are not alone steps in. When we speak, and listen, we learn we are not alone.