Light at the End of the Tunnel: The Arrival of Spring

After two especially long first months of 2014, I feel comfortable speaking for the majority of people when I say that I finally feel hopeful that winter will eventually be gone. Even in the bitter reality of winter, I have always said that I enjoy living in places where the seasons change, because I do like aspects of winter...one of them being that it leaves. I like the appreciation I, along with most people, have for spring and nice weather when it comes. What quickly becomes the unnoticed norm is so celebrated in the days of early March (or late March/early April/May...). 

Simply turning the calendar to March is the first step. This week, it seemed almost out of nowhere that the sky was already lighting up when I walked out the door at 6:30am, and it has been noticeably lighter later in the evening....past 6:30pm! The high temperatures started to creep out of the teens, even touching the 30 degree mark. And the sun - the sun finally begun to shine! When I moved to Michigan, I'll never forget the person who told me, after I brushed off the cold and snow, that those weren't the most challenging parts of a Michigan winter - it was the blanket of gray that covers the sky for what feels like all winter. The sun has been out more and more in last few weeks, and the feeling I get after these past few months makes me wonder if the Beatles wrote "Here Comes the Sun" in Michigan right around this time of year. 

All of these little things come together as a reminder that the winter blues will evenutally be over, if only we have the patience to wait it out. Yesterday, we took the day off to drive out the State College to celebrate my dad's birthday, and when I woke up a little later than usual for a weekday, the sun was streaming in through every window in the apartment. A distant relative of the person who eagerly runs to the big window to see the snow covering the street, I nearly jumped out of bed to return to the same window to see the sun rising over the day. It looks foreign and is blinding, but it's beautiful. While the snow of the past three months is still present (and will be for what a while still), when I keep my head up, I can block that out and focus on the warmth of the sunshine, and on the good things that are to come. 

I know it's not yet time to return the jackets to the closet and pull out the sandals, but today in State College, the sun is shining and the high is in the 40s. For the first time since December, I'm heading out to run, and it just all feels right. I stick by my words that I enjoy the seasonal changes, which include the hardships of winter, and it's really for this moment. Winter reminds me to appreciate the weather of the rest of the year, even if only for a little. Soon it will be too hot and we'll start to complain at that, even though right now, it's hard to imagine such a time exists. Regardless, right now, it's good to be reminded that when times are tough, there's always a bright side.