seasons

"Believe that you have it, and you have it." -Latin Proverb

It is another gray Sunday.

But there are plenty of signs of spring's approach. Little buds on the trees, bulbs just starting to peek out of the ground, a certain smell and quality of the light when the sun does peek through.

I love all of the seasons. I realize that we have very mild versions of the four seasons here, while other places have very distinct differences in them (and others, like where the in-laws live, have pretty much two seasons: hot and cold). But I have lived in the Northwest my entire life, and I have come to know and love the subtleties of our seasons.

It isn't easy for me to choose a favorite. When asked I do say that it is summer. This is true because I love the long days and the fact that I have some time off of work then...and the time has this quality to it that I long for during other parts of the year--fewer clothes, relaxed sense of time..."the livin' is easy."

But by the time fall rolls around each year I am able to welcome it without too much sadness. School starts when the days are still pretty long and the weather is still very agreeable. Things don't really start changing until later into September, and often we continue to have plenty of sunshine and warm days well into October. Then the air starts to get crisp and the colors change. Fall always has this sense of "newness" for me. A sense of fresh starts. This has to do with the new school year, I am sure, and I enjoy being a teacher because of this. The new school year always starts with such opimism and this gives us momentum to get us through the longest and most intense part of the school year--the first semester.

The edging into winter is more subtle since it generally doesn't snow here. The days get very short, and the leaves are gone from the trees...but late fall and early winter pretty much look and feel the same. It is the holiday season that really ushers in the change. After Thanksgiving is over it is like we step across an invisible line from fall into winter. I used to celebrate the solstice as well as Christmas. Now I just acknowledge it quietly/personally. Maybe when we have children I will celebrate it again.

And here we are again...late winter and the first signs of spring are starting to make themselves known--seen, smelled, heard. My father told me once that this time of year is often depressing for him. The reason why is that it is quite common for us to have "sunbreaks" (a term I am sure is only used in the Northwest--or only in places that are known for this abundance of rain). So we go for days and days with nothing but rain, rain, rain. And we don't lament--because this is just how it is and we are used to it. But then the sun will come out, and the sky is so blue and bright and you can see for miles...it is like the world opens up and becomes ten times bigger. Where my father lives it is so beautiful--the Olympic mountains in his back yard and the Straights of Juan de Fuca (with Victoria, BC on the other side) off in the distance as his view from the front yard. So this sense of the world opening up when the sky is clear is far more intense there. On days when you get this glimmer of what the world is beyond all of the rain clouds you cannot help but be uplifted. However, the moment is fleeting, and when it is gone it can leave you feeling down. And this cycle can go on for months. It is not uncommon for June to be one of the wettest and/or grayest months of the year.

Well, Mr. C is up now and it is time for the Sunday rituals. It is hard to have the coffee brewing and not have any of it!