Spring Surprise

"No winter lasts forever, no spring skips its turn." -Hal Borland

"Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's party!" -Robin Williams

 

My neighbor's cherry tree leaves me breathless every single year. 

You'd think I'd get used to it. But I never do. 

I don't know how many springs I have left in my lifetime.

No one ever does.

But each year, as weeks of quiet earth under gloomy sky accumulate and my soul accustoms itself to their heavy weight, the sudden outburst of spring always sneaks up on me. 

Days silently begin to lengthen.

The sun climbs a tiny half step higher in the sky each day.

Grasses grow. Buds swell.

Spring peepers begin their evening choruses.

And then, in a flash, spring explodes into bloom.

Crocus, 

daffodil, 

hyacinth.

Forsythia, 

early rhododendron, 

flowering cherry.

I am charmed; my heart fills with light.

And always, every single year when spring arrives, I am surprised.