Spring Cleaning is, to me, like the Chinese wedding ornament Double Joy.  Washing woodwork and windows, chasing dust bunnies, sorting, organizing, airing, revisiting and assisting items that are longing for a change of scene to find their way, carries with it two kinds of happiness.

            Every painting on the wall and book on the shelf has its due attention and stands or hangs a bit taller and straighter.  The sunlight dances through the windows, enticing those that it can, into its embrace and a late morning nap.  Then, there are the once forgotten treasures, packed away one day long ago.  As small as a button or key on a string or as large as a cradle in the attic, they are there, waiting to be found, waiting to share their stories of hopes, dreams, laughter and love from times gone by. 

            I am nearing the end of this year’s Spring cleaning adventures.  The first week was spent with my son.  My heart was filled, and my walls adorned in perfect shades of white and indigo.  I cleaned nooks.  I cleaned crannies. I cleaned the studio closet (Do I hear eerie music in the background?)  The studio closet that, since we moved in, has held my art supplies, boxes I had avoided unpacking, a plethora of things I knew not with what to do, and, most joyfully, my once forgotten treasures waiting to be found.

             Not a box was unopened, not a shelf uncleared. There were photos.  There were sketches from Europe.  There were poetry and prose.  Some writings mine, some from family or friends.  There were books I had written in bygone years.  All, a joyful reunion of memories.

            Now, on some quiet evenings or lazy afternoons, I may go to my closet and slip from my shelf of treasures found, a moment in time to ponder and muse.

 A celebration of the present and a joyful revisiting of times passed, Spring cleaning, much like the Chinese wedding ornament, is truly a double joy!

Isabella Stewart