Yesterday, as I drove up the hill towards our house after work, I noted all the grass that was now visible after being blanketed by snow for what feels like months. As I neared our house, I was disappointed to see the front yard still a complete (unwanted) winter wonderland. This winter has felt particularly long, the snow piles lingering just long enough that I have started to wonder if Spring will forget about us.
When I arrived home today, the first thing I noticed…ok, I’ll be honest…the first thing I noticed were the garbage and recycling bins were still by the curb despite the fact that 4/5ths of my family was already home. The second thing I noticed was the abundance of green that welcomed me. While the yard still looked like it couldn’t quite decide what season it was, the green patches were starting to win over. For the first time in weeks, the air smelled less like winter and more like something waking up.
I grabbed my school bags and decided to take a closer look. Had the snow in the flower beds melted? It had! I quickly scanned the mulch and found what I had hoped to see. The slightest green triangles pushing their way through the earth. My tulips. I had wondered if they would be making their way towards the sun, or had they been compressed by the endless snow? But despite the months and months of cold and the pressure of inches and inches of snow, there they were. Right on time.
Tonight at Adi’s indoor soccer scrimmage, Rose walked by one of our neighbors we haven’t seen much of lately. “Wow. She got tall!” my neighbor remarked. The moms sitting around me noted how all the kids had grown this season.
“It’s those winter growth spurts,” someone noted.
I guess the tulips weren’t the only thing busy growing during the dreary, cold season. Sometimes the growth is easy to miss while we’re buried in winter coats, carpools, and early sunsets. But then one day you look down and see green pushing through the dirt…
Where In The World Am I Writing From: My computer at my dining room table.
Where There Is Joy 
This must be so cool to watch; it’s one of the things I love about March slices: so many people share about this particular transition in such detail. I have never lived in places where seasons are as such, so I’m grateful for this!
I loved this line, “the air smelled less like winter and more like something waking up.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve never known life without seasons. Spring is pretty amazing…especially after a long winter!
LikeLike
Your post is really the hope of spring on paper bringing joy in your hopeful words. Yet, your “interlude” about the cans awaiting you even though everyone else was home was more relatable at this moment! It is foggy, pouring rain and the piles of snow are still around even if they are melting fast. I’ll look for signs of spring tomorrow.
LikeLike
It’s foggy and rainy here too. We can dream!
LikeLike
This rules, from you noticing the recycling bins to recognizing the long, cold winter. “Sometimes the growth is easy to miss while we’re buried in winter coats, carpools, and early sunsets. But then one day you look down and see green pushing through the dirt…” you end on a hopeful note, thanks for the share! 🙂
LikeLike