Spring is Coming! Spring is Coming!

No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn.  

~Hal Borland

The seasons of the year mirror the seasons of our lives. The dormancy of winter. The new growth that comes in the spring. A summer to bloom and ripen. A fall to 'reap that which we have sewn'.

I am definitely coming out of a winter-of-my-life. There were many chinooks, blue skies and sunny cold days within the cold season. But it was definitely winter.

It feels as though the wait for spring has been endless. It poked its nose out several times but winter had a tight foothold and didn't give up without a fight. Lately, I have started planting seeds again. I have been watering and nurturing them. I can feel things stirring underneath the surface. New life is on its way.

I know that the 'summer' which follows spring will be busy. As it was, the year I planted a garden. I enjoyed watching the seeds that I planted grow into food-bearing plants. I was so proud of my garden as it grew. It looked so 'cute' and enjoyable when it was young. That was, until the weeds and slugs found their way into our garden space. Summer = work and dealing with the 'weeds' that grow along the way.

The harvest of the fall is also a labor intensive phase of the four seasons. But once the crop is in, you can sit back and appreciate the fruits of your labor. The growing season is over. Thanksgiving has come and you can lay your produce out on the table and nourish yourself and those around you.

I have planted several different kinds of seeds. Some will bloom early; others much later. I do believe that I have created a 'rotating crop' of goals and aspirations. Hopefully planting one seed will encourage another to grow.

I hope for some lazy, hazy days of summer along the way to sit back and soak up the sunshine that is my life.

I hope for cloudy, rainy days where I can hunker down and tend to that which needs to be tended. Whether that is a deadline, friends & family or simply sit still and tend to myself.

I hope for seasons within the seasons to give me an opportunity to rest and revive myself along the way. Because face it ... no one season is all good or all bad.

Crystal clear winter days are a sight to behold. There is beauty within a time of frigid dormancy.

The muck and guck and messiness of spring is necessary to get us where we need to be. There is dirt and mire to endure before the world starts to bloom.

Summer may be the season we wish for perfect weather to grow those crops or accompany us on a holiday, a camping weekend or a summer wedding. It may be too hot. Or too windy. Or too rainy. But it is summer all the same. Weather happens. And we will endure. We always do.

Fall is a season ripe in beautiful colors. It is summer's last hoorah as leaves turn to various shades of red, yellow, pink and orange before they fall and coat the ground to insulate the earth for the winter that is on its way. The moment the trees start to turn, we know that winter is on its way. It is time to reap what you have sewn and dole it out ever-so-gradually over the winter months to come.

But for now, I am going to sit back and focus on the Springtime of My Life which has returned. I'm going to sit back and water those seeds which I have planted and enjoy the summer before the harvest. I am going to park myself in a sunbeam and soak up the rays of sunshine.

Spring is coming! Spring is coming!! I am so ready for you this year ...

Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush.  

~Doug Larson