Sunday, March 25, 2012

The Tricky Business of Spring

Everyone has different markers for spring.   The rhubarb is up in the the yard so I say it's official: spring is here.  Of course, in Nebraska,  it could still freeze or snow for a few more weeks.  There has been a lot of talk about this in the neighborhood.  I figure we should just enjoy each day and not worry about what may come.  There are plenty of things to worry about if you feel the need to fret.

Spring really doesn't care much about the calendar anyway.  Like most important things in life, it arrives in it's own time.  There was a great Mary Oliver poem on the Writer's Almanac this week titled Spring.  It began "Somewhere a black bear has just risen from sleep and is staring down the mountain..."
What a great beginning for a poem.  You feel that moment of possibility.

Our two-year-old great nephew was at a family dinner here last night and he is the walking (or running) definition of possibility. He always has a huge smile on his face and he is happiest when he is discovering something new.  Toddlers, with their beautiful soft skin, duck fuzz hair and goofy first words are all about beginnings and possibilities.  You look at them and wonder what joys away them.

The poem continues later with a line that says "There is only one question: how to love this world." It's easier to love a world filled with happy children, spring sunshine and the rhubarb.

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