In Anticipation

Spring is not quite here, but I suppose I am now ready for it. My beard is gone, I'm starting my taxes this week, and am starting to look forward to the events of spring and summer. The weather is not quite as progressive as my thoughts, perhaps because I was far away from the 1-2 feet of snow that hit the east coast this past week. So as the snow slowing begins melting off the ground, and I bask in the refreshment of my Central European vacation, I feel Spring will catch on and awake from her slumber soon enough. (Watch for pictures from my trip in the photos section coming sometime next month.)

I have often said that Spring, besides being the season of my birth, was my least favorite of the year. Summer has its heat, and correspondingly the joy of cool drinks and relaxing dips in the ocean or pool. Autumn (though I actually prefer to call it Fall) is a time for outdoor sports and jumping in piles of leaves. And winter brings an invigorating chill with its snow covered hills and mountains of hot chocolate waiting indoors.

Spring though, I'm beginning to realize, is more than just budding flowers (which were of little interest to a young boy), and goes beyond simply heavy rain showers (which grant little joy to an enterprising teenager). This season, I'm learning, is a time of expectation. A time where the days begin to brighten, and the heavy clothes of those dark months are set aside as the newer, lighter, and freer days emerge. Melting snow washes away the dirt, salt, and gloom, and reveals a stronger, less sterile soil beneath. Springs and rivers come to life, and the skies seem to grow as the wind, which was once a bitter enemy, becomes the breath of a waking world.

So this Spring, for me, is a time to look forward. What exactly this year will bring, I'll not presume to say, but come what may, those new things will find a welcome home here.

Steve