As a kid, my favorite season was always fall. Not just for the crisp air and gorgeous colors, but also because it meant new beginnings. New school year, new (to me) clothes, school supplies, teachers and (hopefully) new friends as well. It probably doesn’t hurt that my birthday is in the fall too. 
As I’ve grown older though and am myself no longer tied so much to the school calendar, fall has meant something else to me.
Winter is coming.
Every day gets shorter and colder, and snow isn’t too far behind. And even though I still love the early part of fall, the second half I definitely could do without. Late October and November in Michigan are cold, rainy and devoid of any color whatsoever, except for the gray skies, the brown leaves left un-raked, and the white snowflakes starting to fall. Instead of snow days and sledding, winter now means slippery roads and shoveling. Not to mention bundling up antsy, cabin-feverish kids every morning and night.
Not one of these things is a favorite of mine.
Instead, I have begun to anticipate the arrival of spring every year with a longing that never seemed possible before. The first sights of green poking up through the earth improve my mood immensely, and just hearing a bird chirping can brighten up my day. Seeing the temperatures rise and the clouds give way to blue skies and sunshine – it’s hard to describe the feeling, but it must be somewhat akin to what a hibernating bear feels when it emerges outside from its winter sleep.
Spring means new beginnings, sunshine, playing outside with the girls, the beautiful colors as my lilac bush blooms and the sweet smell of cherry and apple blossoms from down the street.
As March turns to April this year, I am waiting impatiently for spring. We’ve felt small hints of it – a warm breeze here, the sighting of a robin there. But the cold and wind (and snow!) are only reluctantly letting go of their grip and for each day that we can wear spring jackets and put away the snow boots, there are more where we must bundle back up again.
I do know that sooner or later, spring will arrive. It has to. It must. Everything will turn green and colorful again and the girls and I will be able to play outside in the evenings, ride bikes and swing in the backyard.
Spring will get here, eventually.
Right?
This post was written as a submission for the March/April Group Writing Project at MamaBlogga, on the topic of "Savoring the Season".
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April 4th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
I just hope we don’t skip right into summer heat! Spring and Fall have always been my favorite seasons also.
Debbie Yost’s last blog post..How to Eat a Pringle
April 4th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
Off topic…love the new look of the blog!
Nell@Casualfridayeveryday’s last blog post..Does It Come With Wisdom?
April 4th, 2008 at 9:28 pm
It has been such a hard winter this year for all of you up north. I hope Spring springs soon for y’all!!
MomOf3’s last blog post..Dear Little Gray Hair:
April 4th, 2008 at 10:26 pm
Yes, I promise it will.
Sher
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April 4th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
I admit, I have a kind of morbid curiosity regarding people who live in climates with harsh winters. I have never lived anyplace where fall and winter meant anything more than slightly lower temperatures. I suppose there are fewer flowers, too, since I have noticed all the lovely blooms the last month or so.
OTOH, I kind of see fall the way you see spring. You are waiting for winter to finally release its grip, for the snows to finally stop falling. Here, it’s entirely possibly that we’ll be sweating in our costumes on Halloween. (I remember one Halloween in particular, about 3 years ago, that was just miserably hot.) Every day in fall we hope for cooler weather, and every time a heat wave passes back through we curse it.
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April 4th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
I know how you feel. Even though we don’t get snow, we still ahve the time change and with it getting darker earlier, I’ve come to dread the winter! But now that we’ve got more hours of light, I LOVE it!
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April 5th, 2008 at 10:37 am
I know just how you feel. Spring is my favorite time of year and I’m waiting anxiously for warmer weather and a little green outside. I just looked at all of the coats in the mudroom and decided I’m putting my winter ones away. I can’t stand looking at them another minute. Of course I hope I haven’t cursed myself and now it’ll snow again. I just keep trying to remember “April showers bring May flowers” Happy Spring everyone!!!!
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April 8th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
Oddly enough, some of your original reasons for loving fall are the same as my reasons for loving spring—a season of new beginnings. And also my birthday
.
But early fall is a close second. I think you’ve really summed up the beautiful parts of fall. As I get further and further from my college years, I get sadder and sadder not to be embarking on a new journey each fall.
Yeah, I’m a geek
.
Thanks for participating!!
Jordan (MamaBlogga)’s last blog post..Savor the seasons of motherhood
April 9th, 2008 at 12:33 am
[...] Savoring Spring by Deb – Mom of 3 Girls [...]
April 9th, 2008 at 9:28 am
Deb, I love your blog layout! It is very cool! I’ve poked around and read a few of your other posts, and you are a very talented writer.
I’m in Michigan, too. I hate the winters here with a passion. Ugh.
I checked out your 100 things about you post and saw that we have a few things in common. I grew up in the metro Detroit area, too. Lots of other things as well… Hope to get to know you a bit more. I found your post through MamaBlogga’s GWP, and I’ve seen your writing from Scribbit’s Write Away Contests, too.
Warm regards,
Michelle aka The Beartwinsmom
Michelle (The Beartwinsmom)’s last blog post..In-between seasons
April 9th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
[...] Savoring Spring by Deb – Mom of 3 Girls [...]
April 9th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
[...] Savoring Spring by Deb – Mom of 3 Girls [...]
April 9th, 2008 at 11:22 pm
It’s been the same here—waiting on Spring. This week has been almost summery, and I love it. You have such great things to say about Spring, I took a more sarcastic approach on my entry!
You have beautiful girls!!!
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April 10th, 2008 at 3:02 am
[...] Savoring Spring by Deb – Mom of 3 Girls [...]
April 10th, 2008 at 7:49 am
[...] Savoring Spring by Deb – Mom of 3 Girls [...]
April 11th, 2008 at 7:47 am
[...] Savoring Spring by Deb – Mom of 3 Girls [...]
April 11th, 2008 at 9:29 am
Yes! I feel exactly like a bear coming out of hibernation! Beautifully put!
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