I’m sitting downstairs in my house today with the windows open doing some work. I took Britt-dog to daycare and am washing all of her blankets and febreezing every soft surface she likes to lay on (baby girl is committed to comfort).
It is cool outside, the sun is out, and the birds are chirping. I’ve got a nice breeze flowing through the house.
Growing up in Texas the “in-between” seasons…aka spring and fall…sort of don’t exist. There might be a day or two, or if you’re lucky a week or two, here and there when it is technically spring or fall, but it’s nothing like it is here in Virginia.
When we got married, Nick told me to just wait until the next year. Since our wedding was in March I arrived in Virginia to my new house and new town right at the beginning of spring. I didn’t have to contend much with winter in 2017.
He was right. The next year I was PUMPED when the color started coming back on the trees (so many different colors everywhere!) and the daffodils started popping up all over town. I would sit out on our balcony and just enjoy the warm sunshine and new life.
This year, winter went on and on and on. It was wet. It was COLD. And it felt like it would never end. We had a couple of teases of spring, which honestly kind of made the whole situation worse.
Now, I think it is finally really spring.
I am taking advantage of the pretty days and going on long walks. Sometimes up and down Monticello Trail and sometimes in wide loops around the city of Charlottesville. I am stopping to marvel at all the blooms and the renewed energy of all the people out and about stretching and playing after a long winter.
Last Wednesday Nick called me and said I had to take a minute and drive down Cherry Avenue sometime during the day. The cherry blossoms were out in full bloom and starting to drop their petals and he didn’t want me to miss it.
I’m thankful for this good guy who takes the time to notice beauty and point it out to me.
I decided rather than drive down Cherry Avenue I would let that road be where I started my walk that day. I laced up my shoes and kept my earbuds out of my ears. Instead, I listened to the birds and the cars and noticed the people I was passing. I arrived back home a little over an hour later—four miles tracked on my mileage app—tired but content. It was so good to be out in the sun and slow down a bit and breathe the fresh air.
I’m trying to take time to savor this season and see what it might have to teach me. I’m grateful for Nick and the way he turns my attention toward the beauty of living life in Virginia.
♦♦♦
What about you? Where do you see beauty today? What do the changing seasons look like in your life?
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