Spring has Sprung

Spring has sprung

the grass has riz

I wonder where the flowers is.

Here they come!

Thursday was an unseasonably warm day in Michigan, reaching an outrageously wonderful 65 degrees! Turning into our subdivision on my way home from work, I was greeted by the sight of kids playing outside- riding bikes, rollerblading, shooting baskets, jumping rope and WEARING SHORTS! In mid-March in mid-Michigan.  Yes, there is still snow on the ground but only where the plows  had created giant snowbanks and even those are much diminished.

It was like someone, somewhere, flipped a switch.

And now it is spring.

Never mind that the mercury only crept up to 45 degrees on Friday, or that by the end of this week, we are looking towards daytime highs in the low to mid thirties. Spring is almost here.

I know this for sure. Here's how:

1. The nets are up at the high school tennis courts and the teams have started practicing.
2. The early spring bulbs (crocuses, hyacinths and daffodils) have poked through the ground.
3. People have abandoned their winter coats. Even though the temperatures are a bit chilly, the heavy down parkas have been put aside as we defiantly pretend it is actually warm out there. It was only in the low 40's yesterday, but people were out without jackets of any kind- wearing hoodies and in some cases, tee shirts.
4. I can take the back roads to work again without fear of sliding off icy roads into roadside ditches and if water falls from the sky, it is more likely to be rain than snow.
5. The fresh asparagus in the grocery stores actually looks fresh.
6. The NCAA basketball championships are in full swing. Go UCONN!
7. Everything seems possible again.

It is like someone flipped that switch and the doldrums of winter faded into nothingness.  With the switch on, energy flows and suddenly I have energy to burn. I can hardly wait to ride my bike, start running, dig in the garden, and have my breakfast on the deck. I can hardly wait to write that book, frame those photos, and remodel the study. Maybe I should take up golf this year; certainly I should improve my tennis game. That mini-triathalon? The MS150? Bring them on; I'll be ready! If there were an electronic mood meter (a moodometer?), I would be pegged on insanely happy, bordering on manic. (Ok, not clinically, but you get the idea).

Those first days of spring give me energy- much like listening to ABBA's Dancing Queen while I am washing the dishes. Something about that song makes me want to … well, dance. How can anyone dislike the energy and joy in Dancing Queen?  

Back in the early 1990's I went to a conference in San Diego, California in early March. It had been a dreary winter in East Tennessee, where we lived at the time. Not really cold, but gray and rainy. I think it rained every day for over a month or something depressing like that. Anyway, I flew into San Diego at night, arriving well after dark and checked into my hotel room. The next morning, I stepped outside onto my balcony, which looked over the harbor, and the sunlight was so bright it hurt my eyes. I felt like a mole who burrowed out of the darkness and was blinded by the sun. Of course, it didn't take long to adjust and later that day, I called Al and told him to sell the house, pack up the kids, and get out there, because I had no intention of going home.

That is how I feel right now. Despite the currently gray skies and 42 degree temperature, I am giddy with the hope and energy of spring, of life emerging from dormancy.

Spring Flowers in Key West, FL

I don't dislike winter, but I've had my fill. Hurry home Spring! We've missed you. I know you are on your way and I'll be watching for your arrival.

Today I am grateful for spring and the annual cycle of renewal it brings.