Anyone check out the calendar today? I can't believe it's March. Seems like yesterday it was only February.
Sorry about that - get that from my dad.
With March, I think spring. The official date, this year, is March 20.
Many people await the arrival of spring. Not me. Sure the warmer temperatures are great, but we still have to wait for those to arrive - regardless of those people who don shorts and tanks on a 40 degree day.
You see, I am not a cold-weather person - at least not 3-4 months of the year. I like sun.
I think spring is an ugly season. Everything is dirty. All that was hidden by the snow, even thin layers of it, is unveiled.
There are remnants of snow-plow season along our roadways; garbage strewn everywhere one looks; and wetness, wetness and more wetness. Did I say wetness?
Spring makes me think of rain. Rain is not fun. I hate to drive in the rain, especially at night. Rain begets flooding which begets ugliness to reveal its ugly head.
Rain in the spring is cold. And as I've said, I don't much like cold.
I enjoy the rain on a hot, humid summer day. The smell is one of my favorites. But rain, in general, is not on my list of all-time favorite things.
I realize that with spring, new life begins. Trees begin to sprout leaves. Flowers start to bloom. Grass turns a brighter shade of green.
But it's just an ugly season. Remember those leaves you left in the pile on your lawn during October? Well, they didn't blow into the neighbor's yard as you would have liked. Instead what was a bunch of colorful foliage is now a brown pile of nastiness. Welcome to spring!
The Easter holiday falls within the spring season, which is a plus. And I'm sure all kids enjoy spring break, and a week away from school.
But I'm not exactly sold on spring, which by the way officially runs through most of June. Weird to think of, yes?
June always has been a summer month to me, but summer doesn't officially open until June 21 and runs through Sept. 21. Weird again, huh?
Anyway, I'm done with the winter weather. It's the cold thing I dislike. I can withstand some cold days, it's just the constant, everyday, below freezing temperatures we have to endure that I hate.
Guess I cold move to Arizona. I'd say Texas, but Amarillo just got hit with a record 19.1 inches of the white stuff. In one 24-hour period. Not two things one associates with the other - Texas and blizzards.
Surprisingly I don't mind the snow. I especially enjoy the first real snowfall - those few flakes that fall on an October day don't count. I also enjoy snow on Christmas Eve and Christmas day. That's it. I could go the other 362 days without accumulation, but overall I don't mind it much.
You think I would have gotten used to the change in seasons. After all, I've lived in this area my entire life. Maybe it's more of an adult thing.
As a child, snow and cold was associated with sled riding, building snowmen, school delays and cancellations and Christmas breaks.
As an adult, we experience all those same things, but in a different way. And we just don't enjoy them as much. Maybe we should.
Spring does bring with it the start of Major League Baseball. And there is March Madness. Plus my birthday falls within the season.
I guess spring also reminds me of the term "spring cleaning," which reminds me of manual labor, which I dislike. More than rain.
(Jim Mackey is managing editor of The Review. Reach him at jmackey@reviewonline.com)
