Turnabout

And, poof! It's spring! ish. this week anyways. Let's not get too excited about the change in the weather just yet. I've spent enough time in this part of the country to know winter could still have a trick or two up its sleeve. 

But. These past few days. Somehow, it feels like a greater gift as the temps nudge sixty when those temps come on the heels of a cold snap like the one we just went through. An extra-special reward for surviving the frigid weather. Look closely at the attached picture. That's green in the center there. For real!

For me, the tipping point of winter always comes right around Valentine's Day, regardless of the weather. In these parts, it is then that the sun begins to move to the north in earnest, and there are enough hours of daylight to brighten the sky both before seven in the morning and after five in the evening.

These past few days have seen my blood begin to move more lightly through my veins. My energy level has gone up a notch, it's easier to drag me out of bed in the morning. I look around the house and instead of being overwhelmed by the projects that need to be done, I'm ready to dig in and start thinking about tackling them. (Good thing. I have a long list of to-dos I deferred at my house in the interests of getting the kids into the castle.)

And, speaking of light, there is a light that just might be something other than a train at the end of the hunker-down-because-of-the-virus tunnel. The vaccine pipeline is starting to flow more easily. I just saw something that said everyone who's willing to get a shot should be able to get it by mid-summer.

That said, I am concerned that some of the people running state governments are erasing restrictions too quickly. The numbers are down, but they're not down to zero and I'm pretty sure pretending all is back to normal will send them back up, will cause more needless deaths. But maybe by now, enough people have lost people they love to this thing that they'll wear masks and stay away anyways? Maybe...

Regardless of what 'they' do, I've hunkered down this long, I can hunker down a bit longer. (Especially since I'll be able to see some people again as the weather turns nicer and we can meet outside.) Now is not the time to jump the gun and declare victory. I don't want to be the last person in the COVID-19 pandemic to die from the virus. 

The weather is turning. The tide on the battle with the virus is turning. 

I'm beginning to allow myself to nurture glimmers of hope. This, too, shall pass.