Signs of spring are beginning to grow

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It’s the beginning of March and my thoughts are turning to spring. Who can blame me? We haven’t had a lot of snow this winter, but we’ve had our share of cold temperatures. And the short, gray days are certainly wearing thin.

Apparently, I’m not the only one eagerly anticipating spring’s flowers, green grass, longer days and warmth.  Your Facebook feed may already be peppered with the first photos of plants in greenhouses. In some hardware stores, you’ll notice that seed packet displays are popping up.

We used to start getting seed catalogs in our mailbox around now. Does anyone get those anymore? I would spend hours poring over the photos of gorgeous flowers and beautiful vegetables (and wondering if this year, mine would actually look like the pictures).

And that is why we are bringing you our Home and Garden issue this month. Despite the fact that you might still have some of that icy white snow in piles in your yard, it’s time to start planning for those spring upgrades to your yard and garden. And how about sprucing up your house’s exterior? There’s no time like the present to think about fresh paint and other improvements.

For me, another harbinger of spring has always been my mother’s birthday.

My family is so fortunate to be able to celebrate her 90th this March. She’s planned the party, a small gathering of family and friends. She even sent the invitation via Paperless Post – without anyone’s help!

Whenever someone complains about technology, I think about my mother. She’s pretty computer literate. Yes, she needs some occasional help from her daughter … or her grandchildren. But not as often as you would imagine. That Paperless Post invitation is a prime example. Those invitations are not necessarily the easiest to navigate. May we all live so long and continue learning about new technology along the way!

On page 26, you can read about a member of our community, Tillie Orleck, who recently celebrated her 90th birthday at the Kosher Senior Café.

While we don’t have room to recognize everyone’s birthday in our monthly print edition of Jewish Rhode Island, we are expanding how many we publish on our website (www.jewishrhody.org), where there is plenty of room for everyone. We hope you will share your best wishes and milestones with us and the broader community.

Meanwhile, we launched a little new technology of our own last month with the delivery of our first regular newsletter. We hope you enjoyed it! If you missed it, we hope you will sign up for it today. Just register at Jewish Rhode Island’s website and you’ll be on the list. We’ll publish a newsletter between print editions each month with updates, calendar items and the latest news.

As we head into spring, I’m also looking forward to Purim. But this year, we will have to wait a little longer than usual, until March 20, since this is a leap year in the Hebrew calendar. But, no matter – as surely as spring is coming, so is Purim, bringing us hamantaschen, the megillah, colorful costumes and good cheer.