But spring is a drug in all the worst ways, too. It’s been almost 2 months since the euphoric poetry of Spring erupted out of me. Since then the winter gear has come back out. There have been snow storms and subfreezing temperatures and rain, each occurrence of which brought the kind of heartbreak one might experiencing when coming down off a drug-induced high to realize all of your life problems are still there.
Greenery took a ridiculous number of weeks to peak out. Flowers have just now arrived, and with them hay fever. I am learning that rain is a sign of Spring here. The phrase “April showers bring May flowers,” never made any sense in California. Rain is a winter event there and it is typically over by April and flowers begin in February or March. Even during long winters in California there is typically a little spring in February when flowers bud. But now, here, when it rains things get greener. The grass grows. It was brown for so long, then one good rain and the next day it started growing green. I hope today’s good rain starts the grass seed I have sown on the still brown spots of my lawn.
My whole life I have associated rain with winter. So today is the winter of my experience. This Spring has been like all seasons in one. There has been some snow (though light), rain, wind, fog, sun, heat, humidity. From week to week I do not know what to expect. It is true that there has been a gradual increase in the average temperature. Quite honestly it could stop now for my taste. Turns out I prefer cold and dry to hot and humid. But the mix of weather during Spring has been a surprise to me.
Spring is a drug, euphoric highs and heartbreaking lows and a dose of unpredictability. Somehow it hadn’t occurred to me that moving to the land of winter would mean I would relearn all four seasons.