Every year, around this time, a whisper of spring peeks out from its slumber, gracing the Midwest with a temperature of 50 degrees. It’s true—I wore a t-shirt yesterday.
But, alas, as February goes, this bout of warmth is but a false spring. Next week dips back into the below-freezing range, as my peers and weather app inform me. The darned groundhog saw its shadow this year, of course, so we’ll be cursed by snow for yet another six weeks.
But even though this temporary spring is waning as I write, I see it not as a symbol of false hope, but as a reminder that hope is not lost. A push to keep going, a stimulus of anticipation.
I may be greatly outnumbered in this statement, but my favorite season happens to be spring—the cusp of winter to spring, to be precise. I love the way I can feel yellow light playing on my bare limbs after months of being paler than the snow. I love how the sun is just bright enough to match my daily sparkle but not too bright as to blind my watery eyes. I love how I can play softball out in the green grass instead of on the sickly-colored floors of the gym. I love how the sky turns blue again, instead of its wintery, dreary grey. Most of all, I love the smell. The smell of the soil, the smell of growth. I love the way I can feel how the earth is awakening from its slumber just through a deep inhale.
More than the light, or the sun, or the scent, I love what spring symbolizes: hope. New beginnings. The beginning of spring—”false spring,” that is—is my new year. It’s my fresh start.
So here’s to new beginnings, and all the New Year’s resolutions I will make.
As spring approaches, and warmth re-enters my bones, I have the tendency to become kinder. I become healthier, as I go outside more consistently, so the clarity of my face and quality of my sleep tend to match my relative mood. My New Year’s resolution is to carry that kindness into the depths of winter. Remember that spring is not too out of reach, and hope is on the way.
Even though exams are creeping up on me, as they always seem to do, I am greatly anticipating the smell of spring. I caught a whiff of it in the air yesterday—a faint smell, but a smell nonetheless. Spring is coming, and I am ready to be filled with kindness again. I am ready to go on walks with my family, roll the windows of my car down, and enjoy the scent of Mother Nature waking from her slumber.
