Spring Is Stupid

A wise friend of mine says it best, "Spring is stupid." Yesterday perfectly illustrates this sentiment. Last week we threw our spring break vacation budget onto our deck. Instead of going somewhere, we stayed home and dug in. Very literally, dug holes, hammered a trellis together, talked lovingly to a vine while I yanked its guts from its cozy pot and surgically transferred it into our arduous soil. Washed the white outdoor couch covers, put in a new outdoor rug, weeded, pruned, swept; it was like a home makeover show with the clock ticking for the homeowner's big reveal. Except in this case, the crew was only two, we WERE the homeowners, and the big reveal was an Easter party.

We had 20 folks coming over for a Polish Easter Spread and a Double Header Egg Hunt Extravaganza. Even though it was exhausting to prep and tight getting it done, by the end it was so beautiful... AND it also rained. The swept deck and new rug are now covered with soggy magnolia leaves, and the clean outdoor furniture is hidden under a tarp. The big outdoor brunch was now 20 folks crammed into our tiny triplex, while my nephew smashed half a cinnamon roll in his mouth and the other half between the couch cushions.

So yes, in my wise friend's words, "Spring is stupid." I will add to this though: more than the actual season being "stupid," it's our attitudes during this time and the expectation for anything different. This time of year, whether in nature or in our lives, consistency can be really hard to find. We fight for it so hard too, resisting change and protecting our predictable routines. In the case of nature, weather consistency can actually be dangerous for budding spring plants. If you go back to previous blogs about "hardening," hardening is a young plant experiencing small doses of extreme weather in unpredictable, but safe, bursts. This is to get it ready for the longer durations (the long hot summer and the long cold winter). So really, spring might actually be smart, but our expectations can be very stupid.

What has helped me get through this season, any unpredictable patch, and days like yesterday, is space and patience. This has been my mantra. Space as both actual physical space and space in time. I find I'll need to distance myself more from making social commitments, give myself a moment to recalibrate. Plant myself with distance from other plants so I can decide which way I want my branches to lean and grow. As well as distance in time where I offer buffers in my day. Go into work a little earlier so I can be prepared and feel prepared. Eat lunch slower. Before running out the door to pick her up from school, lie down in silence for 20 minutes. Stop and think about nothing, and don't apologize for it. So I am better prepared for the unpredictability that will happen. Then patience starts to feel easier; usually, one helps encourage the other. Patience is trusting what time is doing. Patience with situations I can't control, patience with people I can't predict, and patience with myself. This is when chaos filters in charming, beautiful moments.

A little blog I wrote 3 years ago feels very relevant, about trusting the shifts underneath you.

Wrote on 4.19.22

Last week was about moving through a shift…Physical shifts in new unfamiliar sequences, shift in seasons, the shift of schedules, or emotional shifts. How we should not only expect rumbles and shakiness to happen, but we should welcome them. These are essential shifts and require all the dust to get kicked up with it before it can settle in a more harmonious way.

This week we’ll focus on patience during these shaky transitions. When you step off of one secure surface onto a less secure one.  Even if it’s not a full on leap, the kind my brothers loved to do when they did a full sprint and jumped from the pool‘s edge onto a boogie board floating in the middle of the pool. Giving them less then 8ft of clearance, and less than 3 seconds of fun skidding on the water’s edge before hitting the other side. Then to find this SO fun they did it repeatedly for the rest of their burdensome summer afternoon. But even the most careful lightest step from boat dock to a rolling floating vessel requires trust and a moment of acclimating. Your own equilibrium will sway and be tested and so will everyone else in the same boat...or cringing pool side in the wake of your cannonball. 

Yes these blind leaps or careful steps require bravery, or in my brothers’ case just an absolute disregard for consequences, but also requires patience. It might be external shifts happening right now, as conditions have clearly changed outside but we have yet to reach cruising comfortable temperatures. This is requiring patience.  It might be internal shifts, life curve balls testing your inner adaptability and hard routines you’ve been dependent on, maybe even addicted to.  It’s never a clean transition. BE PATIENT WITH YOURSELF. As well as whoever is going through it.

This week let’s continue testing different waters, new floating surfaces, and unfamiliar movements. Let’s lead with bravery and skid along life’s boogie board with trust and patience.  It’ll be worth it, and if you give yourself enough clearance, maybe even fun. A fun that’ll last way more than 3 seconds🏄‍♀️🌊. 

Excited to make your bodies sweat, smile, 

and find the smart in the inevitable stupidity.

XO,

Celeste