The Unbearable Lightness of Spring

The unbearable lightness of spring is an uplifting natural high that is so good it is overwhelming. While there is something to say in favor of every season, spring warrants unparalleled joy. It is like the weeks before Christmas or the days before your birthday. There is something insanely hopeful about spring. As the buds wrestle their way to life on trees and the bright yellow forsythia brightens gardens, there is a smell in the crisp air that is inspiring and completely maddening. Spring inspires happiness and hopefulness that can wash away those winter blues that may still be lingering in your mind.

Fall

Fall is spring’s darker cousin. We get different colors and cooler air that hints of weather to come. Fall jackets are always heavier than spring jackets, and instead of struggling buds and brightening bushes, we get red, yellow, and brown leaves falling all around us. While there is something exciting about fall, there is also something depressing about it as well. Summer is gone and winter looms, and darkness comes upon us early and stays longer.

Winter

Winter comes with the heft of colder air and eventually snow. Perhaps Christmas was invented – not considering the religious aspects of it – if not for anything else, to brighten the darkness. Of course, Christmas decorations and lights everywhere glitter against the darkness, almost in opposition to it. You figure “I can get through this time” because the lights sparkle and make the cold air and snow less challenging, but then January comes around, the lights are gone, and it gets dark and cold as outer space.

Summer

Summer could be everyone’s favorite season because of no school days and summer vacation plans, but it is also unbearably hot in many places. If you do not have air conditioning or a swimming pool, summer can be very insufferable and seem like a descent into the seven circles of you know where. Also, if you are not fortunate enough to have summers off, it is a challenge to care for your children. Not everyone can work from home, so summer programs and camps can be -an expensive – alternative.

Spring

Spring is ideal because it strikes a balance between the cold days that came before it and the hot ones that are looming. On those first days when jackets are still needed, the wind and air are lighter and less daunting, and there are no fallen leaves to be cleaned up. There is a literal spring in your step as you go about outdoor errands or work in the yard or garden.

Spring is a good time to do any bigger outdoor projects that you would not want to tackle in the heat of the summer. I like to paint outdoor items in spring, set up yard and porch furniture, and wash the dirt of winter grime from windows and doors. It also is a great time to clean up the garage or shed, and I love putting away winter items like snowboards, snow shovels, ice picks, and heavy snow boots. Of course, perhaps I’ll be needing them next year – I only shoveled snow once this winter so I say perhaps – I like those clunky winter things to be out of sight and mind.

Happy Trails

I am going to end this article now and take a walk on this glorious spring morning. I take walks during other times of the year, but have to go early to beat the summer heat, later to be able to bear the winter cold, and in fall I still need to wear a heavier coat which is cumbersome. Walking in spring is delightful – a time for the unbearable lightness of the season to be a reward unto itself.

You may agree or disagree about my favorite season. Let me know what your favorite season is and why. Oh, and happy spring!