April Showers

April is one of my favorite months because it symbolizes a peaceful time of year--Spring, Easter, and family birthdays. Though I appreciate every season in turn, Spring is unparalleled in its significance. Mother Nature awakens from her deep slumber to give renewed life to all that is pure and beautiful--budding trees, fragrant florals, green grass, and little birds singing their morning melodies. With this comes the return of longer days and whispering winds of hope. It's an annual gift that can only be fully respected after enduring a long and harsh winter.

On Easter Sunday, I joined Anna and Alex at Rob and Cait's house in Aurora. In the company of their dogs, Jax and Sperry, we shared a home-cooked feast and watched the Pittsburgh Penguins playoff game.

Now more than ever, I feel grateful to have family nearby to lean on through my recovery.

At 25 years old, I am more mature than I was last April. Much has happened in the past year to support my growth; finishing grad school, moving to Colorado, a summer biking to Whole Foods and climbing fourteeners, becoming a pharmacist on my own terms, buying my first car, a winter skiing and trying every local beer I could get my hands on, commissioning as a USAF Pharmacist... I felt extremely lucky for such a wonderful year, as everything seemed to be falling into place--that is until my skiing accident last month. It was an unexpected turn of events that reminded me that life can change in an instant. It took a long time for me to feel like myself again, but I am now prepared to accept the consequences of my injury. Every day is a challenge, but I understand how to cope and move forward because I am a stronger person than I was last year.