Signs

The move from the country to the city, even to the edge of a small city, has meant a lot of changes. We have both lived in cities, in much larger cities in fact, and so this was no traumatic experience. There are things we miss, but there are things we realize we have gained.

One of the unexpected gains for me is that from the expansive windows of our apartment atop this building up on a rise outside of Madison, I see so many flocks of birds wheeling in the air. The occasional hawk flies by, almost even with the study window. Every day I see formations of geese heading north-by-north-something. Birds of smaller size go by in less orderly but equally lovely groups, swooping and rising where the geese fly in a steady and purposeful line.

Signs of life, signs of spring coming, signs of hope. Today some Christians celebrate the midpoint of Lent, and the high church liturgical traditions soften the Lenten purple by using pink vestments. A reminder that even in the most somber moments of life, something better is on its way.

Whether you celebrate Christian feasts or join the neo-pagans (at least in the northern hemisphere) in celebrating the turn of the seasons through spring to summer, I hope your day has some light and warmth in it today, even though winter is not quite past.

Think pink! 

And perhaps, for those of us who find the political mishmash disturbing, a reminder: You can cut all the flowers, but you cannot stop spring from coming. 

Not even He Who Shall Not Be Named can do that.