Spring is springing.
Spring is a season of growth and renewal. As the calendar heads toward April, thoughts turn towards outdoor activities and home projects. The warmer weather and longer days mean the chance to start fresh. Spring cleaning means letting go of things we no longer need to make more space for our priorities. The transition from winter to spring helps us look forward to the physical and mental renewal that comes with the changing seasons.
Depending on where you live, for most of us, winter usually means being inside a lot. It also means a time to slow down. Other than winter sports and holidays, there aren’t as many activities like concerts and community events, or travel. But when spring arrives, those types of things start picking back up. You probably start to feel the itch to get out and about again. Whether that means attending events, traveling, or just being outside, spring brings new opportunities to get back out into the world.
Spring Things I’m Looking Forward To
- Live Shows and Sports – I’ve attended a few theatrical performances in the last few months, but as the pandemic eases (fingers crossed), my calendar has filled up with more things. I have season tickets to the Broadway performances at the performing arts center. There are also some concerts I’m attending, along with the Nebraska spring football game.
- Walking Outside – The weather here in Nebraska is highly unpredictable. And most years, our winters mean lots of time inside. This year has been mild compared to most years, but the nicer weather means I get to take advantage of living near the city’s walk/bike path. My apartment complex also has a lot of sidewalks and green spaces, so it’s great to take walks to get a little fresh air.
- Working On My Deck – Along with taking walks, I enjoy spending time outside on my deck. I like to take my writing or whatever I’m working on and sit outside when it’s nice. My deck might not be fancy, but it’s a pleasant change of pace from my desk inside. It’s fun to write while listening to the birds and squirrels. And since I live across from a high school’s fields, I can sit on my deck and watch their soccer games.
- Camp NaNo – National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) takes place in November. But during the spring and summer, there are several months of Camp NaNo. These differ from the regular challenge in that during camp, you can work on whatever you want, as opposed to the 50,000-word challenge of writing a novel. For April, I plan to take on two projects: working on the third draft of my novel and writing a poem a day. (More to come on that in a later post).
- Baseball Season – I love baseball. It’s been an unfortunate offseason with Major League Baseball’s lockout. And my favorite team—the DEFENDING WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS Atlanta Braves — lost one of our beloved players to free agency. But spring training has started, and I can’t wait to watch this year’s team back on the field. I also love my Nebraska Huskers baseball. We’re off to a bit of a slow start, but with a young team, there could be some growing pains this season.
- Planting My Deck Garden – I’ve become obsessed with growing plants on my deck each spring/summer. I enjoy growing tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, and herbs. Hopefully, I can start my deck garden soon. But we sometimes have spring snowstorms, so I need to be patient.
- New Books – The spring and early summer often bring new book releases. I’m always on the hunt for debut releases. And some of my favorite authors announce new release this time of year. I’m looking forward to spending some quality reading time in the coming months.
Spring Things I’m NOT Looking Forward To
While there are a lot of good things about spring and the changing seasons, there are a handful of things that I’m not too anxious about.
- Allergies – I have allergies year-round. But spring and early summer are the worst. As everything grows again, there’s pollen and dust everywhere. The drawback of walking outside and working on my deck is the itchy eyes and sneezing that comes from breathing in all the budding flowers.
- Tornado Season – I enjoy a good thunderstorm. But if the weather people start talking about tornadoes, I’m out. Having lived in Tornado Alley most of my life, I’ve been too close to some tornadoes to not get a little freaked out by them. And since I currently live on the second floor, I have to keep a Go Bag ready in case I have to go downstairs to a neighbor’s apartment if our county is placed under a Tornado Warning.
- Political Season – My state has our spring primary election in early May. This year will be especially contentious as we’ll be electing a new governor, along with several other significant races. The bombardment of commercials, mail, and campaign phone calls has already been ugly. I can’t imagine what things will be like as the primary gets closer.
**What do you like most (or least) about spring? Do you have any special events or projects coming up for this season?
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