Of Spring

Winters here in Louisiana are short. Hell, most people would go so far as to say we have no winter here - just a few weeks of chilly weather. And while they are probably right in that sense, we do indeed have a period of time when the trees go dormant, when mother nature sleeps and the days are strung together with clouds that are mostly grey and low. Our winters are cruel in that there are warm days checkered here and there, days when tropical gulf air flows in and brings with it memories of springs past. We don short sleeves, and venture out, but it is always short-lived, and the cold harsh north winds inevitably return within a day or two.

Every year I suffer in winter. Perhaps it's Seasonal Affective Disorder, although I can't imagine something like that this far south. Perhaps it's just some character flaw on my part. In any case, I usually simply exist during January and February, counting the days until the sun returns. It's a short wait, relatively speaking, but the older I get the harder it seems.

All of this nonsense is related here to explain my absence for most of the last couple of months. February I spent waiting in some kind of suspended animation. I wrote, but not much. I spent time with my family because they make me forget and cheer me up. I read a bit, drowsy by a warm fire, which is one of my few pleasures during the cold months.

And then March arrived, and my birthday, and the sun came back. As a result, I've spent the last few weeks outside, planting vegetables and flowers and exalting in all the things growing green and new. Today, sitting on the ground, covered in dirt and sweat, planting petunias, a story landed like a raindrop on my head.

It is another fairy story like the one I have been working on for at least a month now, but unlike that one this little gem was birthed fully formed, walking and talking from its first breath. I sat down at the computer when I came in this afternoon and wrote it in one sitting. Tomorrow I'll revise it and send it out to fledge. We'll see what comes of it.

In any case, expect more essays in the coming days. I've been thinking over some weighty topics lately, not the least of which is the nature of atheism and belief in relation to one's age, as well as a post on my topic du jour, The Fey. Happy Spring, everyone.

02 April 2008