Spring time is taunting us here in Switzerland. When the temperatures crept above freezing last week we slowly came out of hibernation and have gradually been shedding layers of coats, gloves and scarves.
It is still awfully chilly, but our need for fresh air allows us to adjust to the chill of the breeze. We are soaking in the sunshine and looking forward to warmer weather. Don’t get me wrong I enjoy a beautiful snow, and who doesn’t like hot chocolate season?!
But we are all ready for something new. We are ready to get out of this house!!!
The tulips in front of our house have been trying to press their way up since the beginning of winter when the real cold had yet to arrive. Come, tulips, come! We are ready for you. We are beginning to see the river near our home go from muddy brown to a bright blue as the snow melts from the mountains and makes its way down. We are watching our trees bud and our once thriving pots of pansies are crying out to be replaced!
I find the changing of seasons so refreshing and necessary for the soul. It’s like just when I get into a rut and get stuck in our old routines, everything shifts.
Spring for me means less arguing about bundling up, sending the kids out to play more outside, resulting in better sleeping around here. It means more sun, longer days and it means I don’t have to move the furniture just to feel some change (which my husband is certainly relieved about).
Spring reminds me of my childhood. I can remember cutting pussy willows from our bush out back and taking them in for show and tell in first grade, and I can remember the year one of our bushes got attacked by caterpillars. The leaves curled up and when you opened them you found squirmy green caterpillars. I remember thinking we had a caterpillar tree and not knowing for quite some time that caterpillars really did not grow on trees.
As we head outdoors these days I find myself, along with my kids so pleasantly surprised all over again as if we had forgotten how refreshing springtime was last year.
Last year I googled spring quotes to add one to our chalkboard. This proverb caught my eye: “No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow”. Last winter felt especially long being in a new place and not having as much of a network to remedy those long, grey days. This quote was just what I needed.
Whether we are talking about the literal seasons of spring and winter, or seasons of our lives, this is such a good reminder. It’s so good to be reminded that change comes. You might be in a tough phase with your little one, or in those early days with a newborn when you are getting so little sleep, trying to shake postpartum depression, or potty training.
You might be having a time in your marriage when you feel like you are ships passing in the night, or you might have a child with special needs that is making slow progress on developmental goals that you work on day and night. But the good news is change is constant and new seasons come. Change might be slow, painfully slow some days. And the anticipation of change might turn to impatience before we see the full fruition of the changes.
But change is happening and a new day is coming.
This week we are pulling out the outdoor toys, dusting off the top of the bubble bottle and pushing the big winter coats into the closet until next year. Spring is a process, it doesn’t come over night, but if we let it unfold, it brings rejuvenation and hope for what is to come! I am excited to see what this Spring brings for our little family. We all have room to change and grow.
What do you enjoy about the changing of seasons? Or what do you hope will come for you in this new season in your life?
This article is an original post written by Kristen Kolb for World Moms Blog. You can find Kristen blogging about life abroad, motherhood and more at www.seasonsworthsavoring.com.
Photo credit to Kristen Kolb. Photo may not be duplicated.
You’re right about the change of seasons (real and metaphoric) being refreshing. Usually I am ready for the next one by the end of the current one…
This summer has been different. Wet. Wet. Wet. So it’s as if we’re going straight from spring to autumn – and I’m not sure how I feel about that. Except that spring and autumn are my favourite seasons…Plenty to think about. Love that about World Moms!
Love the quote, Kristen!
I live in the tropics and we only have two seasons here. Hot and hotter! Kidding, but you know what I mean lol. I do miss spring time and especially autumn.
Love how you use the season as an analogy that life changes…evolves. Thanks for this post!
Beautiful post and a comforting metaphor for our vagabond life-style, having so many transitions into ‘seasons’. Like you, I take solace in the fact that seasons will change and knowing there are always things to look forward to. I also use the metaphor as a reminder to take the best of each ‘season’, wherever we are, and take advantage of it before it passes.
The timing of my reading this post is perfect. Today is an unusual day. We woke up to a light snowfall (unsual in Western Washington, USA) and a 2 hour delay for my son’s school. So we took the time to break back out the snow clothes that were tucked away in closets and play outside for a bit. Then we came in, and my son started complaining of ear pain. A quick trip to the doctor’s confirmed both his ears are infected. So no going to school today, and I had to cancel a babysitting favor for a friend. But as we drove home, the sun was shining, the temperature was rising, and the snow was almost gone. So the weather is every changing…and my family plan for the day is ever changing. But tomorrow will be a new day with my son feeling better, my schedule back to normal, and the weather being more spring-like (forecast for the rest of the week is sunny! A treat for us as it’s a very rainy time of year). I wish you and your family a happy, fun Spring!
This is a good reminder, and one I needed to hear. We also have a caterpillar tree (I mean apricot tree). It always seems to get larvae infested.
And our tulips have poked out for some time now, no buds though.
Wonderful post! Switzerland was where I went for my honeymoon and I keep thinking about going back there! Having worked in China for a year and experienced the changing of seasons, I must say this is something that I really yearn for, living right here in the tropics. Somehow, seeing the seasons change remind me that nothing in life is permanent and change can be beautiful, if we learn how to embrace it with openness and not fear.
Kristen, I love this: ” It’s so good to be reminded that change comes. You might be in a tough phase with your little one, or in those early days with a newborn when you are getting so little sleep, trying to shake postpartum depression, or potty training.”
When my older daughter was starting to drink cow’s milk, panic set in. How am I going to get her to drink this?? The more I kept introducing it to her, the more she became used to it and would eventually drink it as a 1 yr old. Fast forward 3 years, and here I am in the same situation with my 1 yr old. I’m so much more relaxed about the fact that she is not used to cow’s milk yet. I’ve learned that change does happen and not to worry about these things. Your phrase reminded me of this!
Jen 🙂