I went to the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens with my mother in law this past weekend and it was really nice to see flowers after what seems like an eternal winter. It hasn't been particularly freezing nor have we had too much snow but the winter has just dragged on. It's still quite chilly in the mornings and I haven't been able to entirely pack away all my winter jackets.

The Magnolias are completely open and at their peek. Though outside of the garden in my neighborhood they are just starting to open. Apple blossoms and Cherry Blossoms are starting to bud. There were a few random Blossoms at full bloom but otherwise the gardens are just sprouting life.

It was however a beautiful Saturday morning and it was nice to have a garden to ourselves for a few hours. I recommend you go in another week to two weeks to catch the full effects of the blossoms.

I recently saw this amazing newspiece about the concept of paying it forward. It’s a program called NEAD or Never Ending Altruistic Donor. The way it works is that a total stranger donates a Kidney to a person in need. In turn a family member or a friend of the recepient promises to donate their kidney to someone else in need and the chain carries forward.

As I sat listening to stories of people who have benefitted by this amazing program I cried because I wish my mother had the opportunity of that second chance. She secumbed to her failed kidneys because she couldn’t find a donor. I’d like to do this, in my heart I really do but I also know realistically this isn’t something I’d like to consider till after I’ve had children.

Anyway please check it out and spread the word. If you or someone you know is affected by kidney disease there is a lot of hope there. Also other resources here and here.

This past weekend I caught Into the Wild directed by Sean Penn with Emile Hirsch as the amazing Christopher McCandless and I was so incredibly touched by it. Christopher McCandless was a man who was seeking solitude partly to discover himself and party while to run away from his problems. He wanted to be one with nature and blazed his own path, living on his own terms, as a free spirit and finally dying in the wilderness leaving behind a written journal of his journey.

I think the thing that touched me the most was how much of myself and my life I found in that movie. I was mesmerized by his purity and spirit and drive and innocence as he went about discovering life and relationships with people and nature. I remember being that way, young and pure at heart, no footprints on my mind to follow, experiencing the world for the first time, on my own terms. It was just such an amazing experience. And I survived to lead a rather mundane life. Not too many people can relate to it. This movie is so heartwarming and pure, I highly recommend it.