Today marks the first day of spring and I am relieved. I have lived in New England my whole life and I'm one of those stubborn Yankees that rolls my eyes and crosses my arms when someone complains about winter in New England. My thoughts were always, Too much snow? Why do you live here? or the classic If you don't like the weather in New England, wait five minutes. I had no patience for people who grumbled about winter; I always just dealt with the snow and haughtily embraced my Yankee grit.
But this year, Mother Nature got the best of me.
Surrounded by mountains of snow, I woke up each morning, peeked out the window, and cursed as I saw the inevitable snow that fallen in the night. I woke up hours earlier than usual to shovel. I crept along to work each morning as my 35-minute commute stretched into 45 minutes, then an hour, and sometimes nearly two. I gave up on wearing anything other than my sturdy boots. I bundled up like I was preparing for an excursion along some frozen tundra and I complained about the weather to anyone who would listen. In short, my hearty Yankee spirit got tossed right out the window into a snowbank.Now, of course, I'm unbelievably thrilled that spring is here. It's such a relief! Yes, there's still snow on the ground, and yes, I know it could still snow, but the sun is warm and spirits are high. It's just the push I need to forget about winter for awhile.
Happy spring!
