To everything there is a season.

I am lucky enough to live in a part of the world where there are four very distinct seasons. Of course, they don't always follow the calendar's suggestion, but they are visible nonetheless. Many around here say they are tired of the snow in winter and long for vacations or retiring to Florida or California. But, not me. I welcome the change of weather each time I am presented with it. How else can we appreciate a day like today? 66 degrees and sunny with a light breeze. Doesn't sound like much, but when I tell you that it comes on the heels of 32 inches of snow in a ten day period, it makes a difference. It is almost spring according to the date, and it seems as if we can put away the snow boots and overflowing piles of mismatched hats and gloves that exist in every home that houses young children. But, it doesn't smell like spring yet. Something I'm sure a lot of people don't understand if they are not familiar with the changing seasons. The geese are back, the deer have retreated to the woods to give birth, the robins are serenading. But there is no fresh aroma in the air. Of course, the ground is still frozen under the inch or two of mud, there are no buds on the trees yet, and the piles of snow along sidewalks and roads are still present. Soon we will become accustomed to these days just as we learned to layer up during the cold snap last December. The tulips will shyly make their presence known. Suddenly one morning there will be buds and tiny leaves on the branches. The lilacs will bloom and we will then be looking forward to the first days of summer when it is warm enough to wear shorts and sandals. Before we know it the grass will be a little too high and our olfactory senses will send us reeling back to our childhood with the first cutting of the grass. Our days will be consumed with weeding the garden, packing the camper for a quick weekend away and hanging laundry out on the line. We will sleep with windows open and go swimming in the lake. Then all too soon, we will have to go to sleep while the sun is still shining because the new school year is beginning again. The heat of summer turns to a welcoming warmth during the day with cool evenings allowing us to sleep comfortably with a light throw on the bed. The leaves will turn brilliant hues of red and we will harvest our crops that we prayed would live through the dry spells of July. Children will giggle and run during recess, unaware of the clouds looming overhead that their parents refer to as 'snow clouds.' Then once again, the hard frosts come and kill our flowers and chill our hands in the morning. We will again pull out the piles of winter gear and vow to keep each mitten with it's mate this year. One morning we will awake to a fluffy white comforter covering the yard. Then the countdown to spring begins again and we will look forward to days like today when we can again sit on the front porch and listen to the squeak of the chain on the swing set and the crack of the ball on the bat.