Thinkin’ spring, but it’s still so cold!

My first memories of spring were of flowers and sunshine and walking barefoot in my backyard.

Sundresses and strappy sandals.

It was spring before it was officially spring.

That’s because I grew up in Southern California. Life may not have been carefree or safe, but it was WARM.

Those days are lonnnnnng behind me and so so far away, literally. Now in the upperright, opposite coast we see spring on the calendar and then count two more months before the ground thaws enough to dig in our gardens.

My first spring away from the West Coast I didn’t understand why it wasn’t warm during my ”spring” break. ”But….it’s SPRING.” I could not wrap my baby brain around the calendar not matching the weather.

And now my middle-ish aged brain still struggles as we watch the daylight grow longer while the snow falls harder. But…it’s SPRING!

BUT…

It’s SPRING!! Which means day by day we get closer to those first daffodils poking through. Closer to the first buds on trees and shrubs. Closer to green grass and baby birds!

My dad said the same thing every winter after we left California.

He’d say, ”remember when all of this was GREEN?!” And we’d laugh because of course we did and if we didn’t laugh we’d cry the frozen little tears of southerners whose blood was too thin.

One summer he said, “remember when all of this was WHITE?!” and then we killed him.

I kid. We loved the winter in those early years. It brought snow days and snow men and sledding and snowball fights and those perfect naps of exhausted babes freshly warmed by dry clothes.

But there is just something so encouraging about the growth and rebirth of spring. Even in California we watched the old die and the new grow in it’s place. Now the effect is so much BIGGER as it’s a much BIGGER extreme from the below zero temps in winter to a perfect 60 degree spring day. But it’s also a BIGGER struggle as we anticipate the coming of those warmer days.

Hence this post. I’m reminding myself that Spring. Will. Come.

It always does, Stace.

And in the meantime, switch out those winter decorations for spring. Shop for the flower seeds you want to plant in May.

Maybe pick out a bright pink yarn for that spring sweater you’ve wanted to knit for yourself. You know, because even when it’s warm out here it’s never really WARM.

Lol.