In my native Texas the sun is shining, the grass is green, the trees are putting out, people are wearing shorts, and the Blue Bonnets and Indian Paintbrush will soon be in full bloom.
I spent my first March in Vermont six years ago lamenting the absence of these familiar signs of spring. I thought spring would never come and indeed using my yardstick it didn’t get here until May, a full two months after my timetable said it was supposed to arrive.
Now, having adjusted to the much more subtle signs of a Vermont Spring, I see promise everywhere. The daylight is lasting longer, even without the early onset of daylight savings time, and we are occasionally getting daytime highs in the 40s. A little of the snow has melted and the two-foot-long icicles are gone from the eves of my house. Sugar season is in full swing and the first robin is surely only weeks away.
For us Vermonters this is a hopeful time when spring seems just around the corner. We begin to dream of daffodils, lilacs, and crab-apple blossoms. We look forward to jackets and sweaters instead of down coats and start thinking about our toes peeking out of sandals instead of wrapped in wool inside our winter boots. In May when we are still longing for sweaters and naked toes we can become a little grumpy but for now we are filled with the delicious possibility of abandon.
Along with the still buried flower bulbs that will eventually make their way to the surface love is sprouting all around me. I am surrounded by people who are using their time, energy, knowledge, and heart to do something for our human community. Every day brings the possibility of a new email or phone call telling me about an amazing endeavor of loving kindness. The world is literally raining blessings.
Spring is a time when things are wanting and waiting to happen. Sue Monk Kidd said, “Inside each of us is a place where our dreams go and wait their turn.” What inside you is waiting and wanting its turn?
Sharon
April, 2007
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