Ah, spring. In SoCal, we are not shoveling the last of winter’s snow from our driveways or marveling at nature’s first buds piercing through frost, but, even here, spring ushers in a shift we can feel in our bones. 

I like to begin preparing for this seasonal change in February (after the excitement of the new year cools) by ramping up my health and fitness goals, sketching out three-, six- and 12-month plans and staying on top of my son’s second semester progress. 

This February, however, found me off-kilter. In addition to my work here at L.A. Parent, I agreed to take on five creative writing students. This, in the middle of performing in local literary events and traveling to Kansas City, Mo., to serve on a panel about motherhood and labor and to Dallas to serve as the featured author for a college’s participation in the National African American Read-In program. 

Did I mention I’m also a mom? 

But in the midst of whirlwinds, moms will always find a way (a superpower that deserves to be acknowledged outside of Mother’s Day). During my panel called “Rewriting Motherhood, Reimagining Essential Labor,” I held up a copy of L.A. Parent’s last issue and talked about how the stories of the mothers in our community — those parenting through health battles and grief, those finding creative ways to connect to their children — help sustain me and my colleagues. My fellow panelists and I vowed to keep shedding light on how unsupported the act of mothering continues to be — economically, socially, politically. 

We all have experience with the act of mothering and nurturing, whether we are biological mothers or not. We are all part of the human cycle of conception, gestation, delivery, growth and, yes, death. Like the seasons. Like Mother Earth. 

I believe that if we re-center the power and lessons we learn from nature and from nurturing, it would do the whole world a whole lot of good. In between my trips, I flew back to L.A. for a day, squeezing in a gym class, family time, some student time and a moment in my garden. I planted some wildflower seed balls I had picked up a few weeks before from Earthing Earth, a low-waste vintage home décor shop in Long Beach. Everything in this gorgeous shop feels, well, earthy — used clay pots, lush plants, art and textiles crafted by loving hands. In my garden, I sunk my own hands into fresh soil, inserting each seed ball deeper into the earth. The next day, I was off again to talk to college students about the importance of telling their stories and the urgency of hearing all stories. Teaching, like working as a nurse, like making art, is another form of mothering. 

I hope you can feel the care that went into putting together this spring magazine. It’s an issue we hope will inspire you to foster a deeper love of nature in your kids — and to nurture yourself as well.

Happy spring!

Cassandra

Cassandra Lane is Editor-in-Chief of L.A. Parent.