Spring Where are You?

Please don't fret New Yorkers, it won't be long now. The snow and freezing conditions will soon give way to warmer weather and rain and mud. Don't you feel better now? Seriously this has been a trying winter, but this time of year is exciting. Why? Because it is filled with promise and expectation. Spring literally signifies life in terms of the growing season, and for me mentally, it is also a new beginning. Although the calendar starts in January, life as we know it begins with Spring. We start to venture out of our house with regularity, encounter neighbors who ignore us, and realize that in fact there's a lot more seeding to be done than we had hoped.
So in honor of Stravinsky's "le Sacre du Printemps" I present "The Rites of Spring":

1) Biking: It all starts here with abbreviated rides that still prove to me that I am out of shape. I will miss Al, who still needs some fixing, but I have my new young JeeP mountain bike, who likes to be addressed as "JP".
2) Cleaning the garage: Hard to believe how much stuff can accumulate over the winter, but a good Spring cleaning heals all wounds and provides "gumption" leading to many other tasks that cause severe thirst necessitating a cold beer while sitting on your open truck bed door.
3) Cleaning the shed: Yes this is an annual favorite, providing yet more gumption and the knowledge that various animals have been living in very same shed.
4) Lawn Seeding: this is actually an Olympic event in certain Westchester suburbs, but only for illegal aliens, usually of Mexican descent. Ah yes, did I not say that Spring represents "hope", in the expectation of a luxurious carpet of grass, which during that first seeding seems like such a sure bet. Our hopes are fulfilled as the green blades emerge, only to be dashed by that damn landscaper who won't stop trimming until he hits paydirt.
5) The Beach: As a kid growing up so far from "the Shore" the ocean has always represented life, magic and hope for me. Of course since we now live 10 minutes away, we never go. This is one of the rites I will not compromise on, as Linda and I will be headed to the ocean at the first sign of 55 degrees.

Could this possibly be the total list, my avid readership asks, is something not amiss? Of course with spring the cycle of life and knowledge begins again. My appenticeship begins anew, and I empty my cup, becoming the clean slate upon which my Basil teachers will write their lessons. It is a dilemma, this hibernation that occurs with the latter seasons. I have forgotten so much that they had taught me, but by their absence they have forced me to live and learn on my own.

Hopefully by this post finds you all ready to welcome Spring and all of the surprises, challenges, mystery and wonder that this season of life will bring. One morning soon I will awake to the sound of that bird just outside my bedroom window and I will know that Spring has sprung.

Keep the Faith!