Primavera!

No, not the pasta.  OK that too but really -- SPRING!  It has sprung! 

I'm 38 years old.  And many a time I've been asked what my favorite season is.  And 100% of the time I've answered, "the fall."  I'm from Michigan.  Born and raised.  And let's be honest, fall in Michigan is awesome. 

I love the colors of fall.  I love the way fall feels.  I love the smells.  I love the brisk air.  I love when it's time to break out jeans and warm hoodies and maybe even a scarf.  I ADORE going to cider mills and feeling the dry leaves crackle beneath my feet.  Picking pumpkins and apples has been a tradition in my life for as long as I can remember.... it's just a part of me.


But the winters, notsomuch.  So about 4 years ago we packed up the fam and moved to Nashville.  And just this year, I changed my mind.

Spring,  is in fact, my favorite season.

Not just because it's February and daffodils are already sprouting from the earth.
Not just becuase in February I wore flip flops a) at all and b) about 6 total days.
Not just because for several days this year already I've slept with the windows open and had the air conditioning on in my car.

Although those are all VERY good things.

But spring is, quite literally, about getting out of the hole.  The hole you've dug for yourself to hibernate for the winter.  Some of us were hiding from more than just the cold.  Spring is a reminder to get out and spread your wings, even though that first time around may bring some aches and pains and even a few pops and cracks, you'll never feel better for it.

Spring reminds me to breathe........ deeply.  Shake out the cobwebs that have been weighing me down  in my heart and in my chest.    To open not just the windows of my home but the windows in my heart.  Clear out all that is weighing me down and inhale all that is new.

Spring reminds me of new life.  Not just the life sprouting from the earth in in it's greenest form but in the reemergence of people from their own personal hiding places.  It's a reminder that *I* have a chance at new life.  For whatever this last year held for me, spring reminds me to begin anew.  To spread my own wings and inhale that deep fresh spring air that carries the scent of rain and dirt and mud and all things fresh and good.  To dig my hands in the dirt -- to get dirty -- and not care a bit.  

All of that, and there's no words for the sounds coming from my laughing, exhausted children as they run outside and play and jump on the trampoline and ride bikes and scooters until they literally can't stand.  That is pure bliss.  Not just for them, but for me too. 

In a word, spring makes me happy.  And that's really just what I need right now.  It's ALL I need right now.

No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow.  ~Proverb

Another absolute favorite of Tennessee spring.....the magnolia tree.  How I love them so!