April 2023
Have you seen the graphic about the different stages of Spring?
There's Fool's Spring, Second Winter, Spring of Deception, Third Winter, Mud Season, then Actual Spring.
Here in New York, I think we're in the Spring of Deception. I fall for it every year.
The Winter Aconite and Snowdrops are putting on a display, the wild onions are popping up in the grass (much to my chagrin), and the bulbs are coming up in the garden (maybe we'll have blooms by Easter?).
But inevitably, I will be out in a few weeks cutting the last of the daffodils and tulips with the kitchen scissors to save them from an impending snowstorm (it's happened before!).
Because seasons (like many things in life) don't always go in the direction we expect.
We have weather in the 70s in January and days in the 20s in March. That piece you had ready for a performance a month ago now feels a bit shaky. We take two steps forward on a project one day and three steps back the next.
And so, just like the unreliability of Spring, we learn how to pivot, to be flexible.
To dress in layers and keep the snow boots by the back door*.
We learn to relax our expectations, view unexpected changes as surprises, and approach problems with a spirit of curiosity and observation.
We will eventually make our way to Spring (we always do). But what will we discover along the way?
*Last week, it was 60 degrees and sunny when I went to teach, so I wore flats, but by the time I left, it was 30 and snowing. See? Always learning.
