Early spring

Never before have I been able to be comfortably outside in a short-sleeved shirt in a Northern Virginia late January.

I was raised with January being early spring. In San Diego, January is often the rainy month; it’s when the grass gets green for a couple weeks and everyone is hyped up on whale watching. Everything after January quickly descends into San Diego’s other season (brown).

Not in Virginia. My past winters here have been characterized by cold, snow, and that bitter wind that causes instantaneous brain freeze upon walking outside. I remember the snowball fights during J-term and standing in subfreezing temperatures all day on the inaugural parade route, my socks slightly damp, being fairly certain that I wasn’t going to have a nose or ears by the time the day was over.

But I did survive, and a year later, I found myself at a park today, walking beside Allis and taking in the warmth of the sun in a pristine sky. She wore jeans, a long sleeved shirt, and a light eyelet-woven sweater; I wore jeans, a short sleeved shirt, and merely a crocheted poncho-styled covering as my jacket. The grass was a muted green today, and the most vibrant color in the extensive park could be found in the bright red berries of some thick bushes along the forest edge (think The Village). We also located a few spots of snowdrops (top picture) and even a sole, sunny-yellow crocus.

So Kelly need not worry much longer about the onset of spring; many harbingers of the season are here. Not the least of these is the progress of my paperwhites (lower picture), put in soil less than two weeks ago and already shooting skyward. It will be fun to see the flowers finally emerge, but since these are a single-bloom plant, I will have to make a visit to somewhere in the near future where I can get more (and different) bulbs. Hey, if I can’t have a real garden outside, I might as well bring the dirt inside.

In our courtyard this afternoon, at least two dozen boys, ranging in age from fourish to twelveish, were playing a handful of different games of football. I’d almost forgotten the Super Bowl was next week (one of the advantages of not having a television), but they most certainly had not. They were really getting into it, and it was so much fun to see them enjoying the weather. Children have such an abandoned enjoyment of God’s most simple gifts, like lovely weather, that we adults tend to shove into the realm of polite elevator conversation. No wonder Jesus said “for such is the kingdom of Heaven” – who likes being around ungrateful children?

While I was outside in our complex (doing my laundry that almost didn’t get dry), I also noticed a scent of lighter fluid in the air. Not that I enjoy or endorse the use of the stuff on any barbeque of which I am in charge, but the scent rousted memories of summer, and as I walked toward our townhouse and looked at our porch and seasonally retired barbeque, I pictured a big get-together with friends, sizzling meat (and vegetables of course), laughter, games, and relaxation on a warm twilight, just as the fireflies began to dance around the playground in the courtyard and the children endeavor to catch them before their mothers call them to dinner.

An early spring. Maybe that means early cherry blossoms, early rejuvenation in the local park now dominated by the skeletons of magnificent trees, early adjournment… well I can dream, can’t I?

There have been changes enough in recent weeks. Chris finally moved out (um, that is, Chris’ stuff is now permanently removed from the premises and into he and Felicity’s new home about 10 minutes from us – yay!). We’re actually on top of the letter flow at work for the first time in my tenure (not that my inbox is clear, but the written letter to out-the-door turnaround is at an all-time high). Oh, and yes, if I haven’t mentioned it, the discovery of a new favorite ice cream has been oh so delightful. We’re now well into 2006 and all the changes, marriages, ups and downs, parties, books, lessons, and new ice cream flavors it will bring.

So happy early spring, fellow Northern Virginians!