About time.

I love how my mind, body and soul responds to the call of the sun. Central Pennsylvania has been a bit inconsistent, seasonally speaking, these last few years. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m getting older, or if the seasons really are no longer as dependable as they once were. Along about March, I start getting spring fever. When the occasional warm day slips through the cracks and shines down, my body is compelled to spend time outside, even if only for a quick stroll or an al fresco lunch, before the inevitable return to overcast skies, and onion snows end my fleeting glimpse of sun. But when I start seeing green shoots push through the dirt with a promise of daffodils, crocus, and tulips, my heart leaps in anticipation of pending color and fragrance. Give me an unusual week of 60 degree weather in March, and my focus is shot. My mind wanders and my body goes into full spring mode, forcing me to paint my toes, pull out the capris and grab my sandals. Clearly, this isn’t my fault, but a knee jerk reaction to my primal need for sunshine and warmth. Woe to those around me who must suffer my relapse into winter blues until Central PA finally submits to time and spring’s inevitable return.

Spring has traditionally been about growth, renewal, and rebirth. The past six months have forced a lot of personal growth and rebirth of my own. It’s exhausting to grow; getting outside of your comfort zone is like pulling on that bathing suit you haven’t seen in six months. I’m a little fearful of how it fits, and how I’ve changed, and if it’s time for a new suit. You worry, you fret, you obsess, you panic. (Okay, *I* panic. Your mileage may vary.) Is panic a knee jerk reaction to change? I’m not sure. When I remember to step back and reflect, however, I become aware that so many others are going through crisis points too, real or imagined, and it’s the very nature of growth. I’ve put a lot of energy into changing my surroundings, recalibrating my direction, and expanding the boundaries that bind me. But clearly, as important as it is to grow, it is equally important to take the time to pause, take a time out, and look back at the distance we’ve come during that growth. When we reflect, when we become comfortable with who we are, when we understand our growth is a good thing and offers us more opportunities to be the person we were born to be, we gain the confidence to return, more on our game, better adapted and once again ready to infuse our own personal energy into life and the space around us.

It’s about time.