The Promise of Spring

It's been a bad winter.

For nearly 3 months, we haven't seen our yard. The snow on the north side of our lawn is 2 feet deep; the snow piled on the side of the driveway is 4 feet, with a layer of solid ice at the bottom that refuses to budge. There were 3 weeks in January when the temperature refused to move out of the low 20's. Earlier this month, there was a period of time when we had to shovel our driveway 5 days in a week's time. Old-timers say this is a once-in-20 years phenomenon. You get the picture.

However, at the beginning of this week the temperature hovered around 40 degrees for a couple of days. I was finally able to take an outdoor walk, savoring the sunshine in nothing more than a light jacket. I noticed that the roads and sidewalks were finally clear of snow and ice, but even more exciting was the green fringe of lawn starting to peep through the melting snow. I felt rejuvenated; here were the signs I had been longing for, the signs heralding an approaching spring.

Perhaps it was the sun, but I started to get philosophical. What a great metaphor this was for life! It was nice to be reminded that no matter how bad life gets, it will never stay that way forever. It brought to mind some of the old addages - "every cloud has a silver lining", "even the darkest night has a dawn", and "this too shall pass". These may seem a bit cheesy, but they're true nonetheless.

Does this magically mean the end of our terrible winter? Not yet - the temperatures have dropped again and it's snowing outside, with more snow predicted to hit the area later this weekend. But, I am facing this new round of storms with renewed strength as I remember the promise of an upcoming spring :)