I have talked to so many people who have stated that since March 2020 time has really flown by. And realizing now that it's May of 2023, I feel their sentiments. This mild winter has really flown by for me. My kids have all gotten a year older, my home needs another year of TLC, my car is feeling its age (and I dread the day when I have to purchase a "new" one), and I know for sure that I can physically feel how fast the year has been going. And it amazes me right now that it is already mid-spring. My grandmother would always say, "the days are long but the years are short." I now understand what she meant by those words.
As I enjoy sunrises everywhere - in the city where I live, at the ocean, at my pine barren little mobile home, or living vicariously through others' pictures, I can see that the days are getting longer, the weather is becoming warmer, the trees and flowers are in full bloom… we have had quite the beautiful spring.
And no matter how hard the year we’ve had, spring represents new beginnings, new energy, new life and new ideas. For CORA, spring represents dreaming of a new fiscal year, building budgets that reflect what we know needs to be done to support all emerging needs, and then to scale ourselves back to ensure we are fiscally sound as a business. It’s ending an academic year strong and thinking about the new one that lies ahead in the fall. We take time to review programs and determine what makes sense for us to continue…what is working and what might not be working. It is full of dreams and fresh beginnings, wrapping up the fiscal year and determining the new year to come.
I encourage each of us to do the same when we think about our own lives. Welcome those new beginnings and fresh starts - the very environment spring cultivates in us. April was stress awareness month and May is mental health awareness. Just like CORA's leadership team is careful to consider, I encourage you to consider what is emerging in your minds as you think about spring and summer - more time with family, exercise, meditation, volunteering, investments… take the time you need to discover yourself and your needs, breathe in the sweet smells of spring, enjoy the laughter of the children who play outside. And take the time to look at the beauty of the emerging life that surrounds you.
Thank you for supporting CORA and keep a watchful eye out on this month's CEO blog.
AnnMarie McDowell
President & CEO
