Waiting

bloodroot

Peepers are finally peeping. It has been a long wait this year. I saw my first spring ephemeral along a trail in the woods today--bloodroot! I usually observe coltsfoot first, so this surprised me. I rode my bike yesterday, on a dirt/gravel trail along a river. I wore bike shorts! The forsythia in my yard is threatening to make its move.

I’ve been waiting, and waiting, and I cannot tell you how great it feels to experience these signs of spring. Just two days ago, I awoke to a snowstorm. It is a long slog here in northern New England, but when spring arrives we go a little nuts. My friend Lyn and I, out on a walk today, could talk about little else. No matter how many springs we have experienced (and that’s been a pretty big number for some of us), it always amazes. It never disappoints. But, man, do we wait for it. We wait and we wait, and when it comes we do not wonder what all that expectation was about. It seems more magical every year. Every year.

They say that everything good is worth waiting for. I think this may be true, definitely in the case of spring.