March the Tease

March in the Maritimes is such a tease! I am glad to see it come to an end. 

One day the sun is shining, the snow melting, the spring coat retrieved and winter boots tossed to the back of the closet. With feet free to step lightly, Spring feels like a major weight loss.

Next day, the wind is howling, the snow falling. Back comes the winter coat, out come the boots. 

On a personal level, last week felt like March in spades!

On Monday, the first day of Spring, we learned of the overnight death of a good friend. We knew Sue was ill, yet not how ill. The almost sudden death leaves many of us bereft. 

Questions linger. How can this be?  What was the last conversation? Did it have meaning? Was it worthwhile? Did I listen for what was not spoken? 

Still it is Spring. Beneath the earth, new life stirs, shoots are reaching out and up. (like the picture above)

The grief is sharp. Like the spring freezing and thawing of Earth, the joys and sorrows are entwined. 

Still it is Spring.

Mid week a loved one had a medical emergency. In a single day we plunged from fear to hope and back again. We held our breath, praying they would make it through the next minute. 

Still it is Spring. The robins have returned… although not in our yard as we are still buried in snow. Roadside litter surfaces. Spring heaves and pot holes make some roadways an obstacle course. 

Still it is Spring. 

The good news. Our loved one did make it through the next minute and the next minute after that and onward. Hallelujah for prayers and medical miracles.

Still it is Spring. With no short cuts through spring a warm breeze is like summer to the soul. Water is dripping off the eaves. Brooks are bubbling eagerly. Ice is breaking up in the rivers.  Slivers of open water peek through the ice in the creek below our home. The neighbourhood beaver was sighted taking a leisurely swim through the slim water channels near their lodge.

Still it is Spring. Time to open the windows, bring in the fresh air and watch the dust fly about - until today’s snowfall. 

It has been a tough week. One that plays itself out over and over again in our lives and homes as we dance between fear and delight.  

Still it is Spring. The Spring of new life is here! Fear does not have the last word. Hope is here. 

On this almost last day of March, the song from Lucy Maude Montgomery’s musical Anne of Green Gables whispers in my imagination.

    Open the windows, 

        sweep out the cobwebs… 

    Open your mind 

        to what is going on all around…

    Look at the sunlight…

        take off the blinkers...

    let in the daylight…

        look all around you

            life with astound you…

Indeed life does astound us. With its beauty and tragedy. 

That’s my week. What has your week been like?

Still it is Spring.