Springtime Gifts

The heralders of spring…

Last year around this time, John and I were preparing to move from New York state to Minnesota for him to finish college and expecting our first baby. I still remember the way Spring’s sweet scent brought about that spirit of adventure coursing through my veins as those gypsy ancestors exerted their influence. A lot has happened in that year.
My ears are immersed in the sounds of a language I don’t understand, I have an assertive, delightful baby girl crawling around everywhere, I actually live in Asia, and I am missing springtime. A lot of my childhood was spent in a wonderfully mild climate on B.C.’s west coast where we experienced rainy winters and moderate summers. Pure white and velvety purple crocuses pushed through the damp earth in February, and the daffodils, heralders of spring, shone out sunny yellow against the fragrant green grass in the month of March. Spring is a time of the birth of nature and the delicate new green leaves cling tenaciously to the limbs of well-watered trees. During this season, I love to go for walks in the gently falling rain and get drunk on the purest smell of new earth.
Spring and fall have always been my favourite seasons—I’ll miss them both this year and I confess that I lament the fact. I missed them as well during the four years I lived in Mexico. I don’t savour the heat—I can’t tan to save my life, am prone to get the heat prickles (if you’ve never had this, I’m afraid I can’t describe it to you; it’s quite uncomfortable), and can’t stay in the sun too long for these reasons, which causes me to miss the great outdoors. Sigh. I like cooler climates.
BUT…God knows all this and gives me little gifts in the midst of hot summer days. For one, I am so blessed to be going to Chelmsford, England in two weeks, for two weeks, to be with my family and celebrate my sister’s wedding. We haven’t all been together since my own wedding just less than two years ago. AND…I’ll get to have a taste of spring—oh joy!
Okay, that was gift number one. Gift number two is that God sent us cool air this weekend, and on Sunday, our wee family went on a “rain walk”. Aria had never been out to simply walk in the rain and when John saw the droplets lightly falling from our balcony, he called to me asking if I’d like to go for a walk in it.

Water droplets—Spring’s jewels.

I’d just laid down and was in desperate need of a nap as I’d been up at 4:30 to go to the Sunrise Easter Service, but a walk in the rain definitely sounded enticing. John put Aria on his shoulders and off we went, letting the misty drops refresh us. It felt like springtime. Then, large, heavy drops began to fall and we got a good dousing—it was honestly a delight. Little droplets hung from Aria’s earlobes like shimmering diamonds and she seemed to be enjoying herself, way up high on her beloved daddy’s shoulders. The rain shower soon subsided and we walked through a wet world, glowing with the sun’s reflections. We walked down a road we hadn’t been down before, stopping under a blossoming tree to drink in the scent of its bright yellow flowers providing a bower above us and a carpet beneath our feet. I was so glad I had chosen to go on this little adventure rather than take a nap—I could have missed this treasured gift.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 20th, 2006 at 4:14 am and is filed under Rachel's Musings, Reflections & Musings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.