April Showers: What do they Bring?

I am so ready to welcome April…yes, even its showers! March in my life was a test, from beginning to end. I don’t know, or really care right now whether I passed the test. I am ready to turn over the calendar and start the new month.

One morning this week, I woke up to clouds in the valley. That is a common sight in Missoula (a recent news article cited ours as the 10th cloudiest city in the Lower 48). I sighed, added one more gray day to the cumulative tally, and went on with business. Later on, I had a chance to drive out into the country. When I opened the car door, I could smell spring! I could smell fresh, damp earth. When I looked closely, I saw there was no longer a sheet of ice sealing the ground. I could almost envision a little green tinge to the tan hillside. I felt a surge of joy.

For the first time, I really believed. At a visceral level, I responded to the change of seasons. The date on the calendar didn’t do it for me. Daylight Saving time didn’t do it. A reflexive response to sensory input convinced me: it is time to start anew.

New Year’s Day. First Day of School. These and other dates and seasons offer rituals that trigger list-making, fresh starts, and resolutions for a better life. I have not typically viewed spring as one of those times. Those of you like Frank, Jim, and Mari who are gardeners, know how to celebrate. Buy seeds. Till. Plant. April showers bring May flowers. Those of us who are not gardeners may see this as the wet, muddy, brown season between lovely white and iridescent green.

I am a convert! Not to gardening necessarily, but to spring. I am ready for the rain. I am ready for the mud. I am ready for the lighter clothing. I am ready to phase out of skis and ease into hiking boots. Goodbye treadmill, hello trail. It has been a long and beautiful winter. It is time for something else.

Spring does not mean marking time between the “better” seasons, but has a charm worth celebrating in its own right. That charm means tomorrow might be winter again. To celebrate in its own right.

What does this season mean for you? What rituals do you practice? Do you buy and plant seeds? Rake the garden? Take a Spring Break trip? Enjoy spring skiing by heading up the hill until every last patch of white is gone?

Until the next time, go well.

Pam