Saturday, February 11, 2023

Sunlight, Warmth, and Daffodils

I’m in California right now, my second visit in so many months.  I came to see my family and to stay with my mom for a bit as she sorts out life without my dad.  I’ve missed the second patch of extreme cold in New Jersey by being in California in February and it must be said that I’d truly forgotten how beautiful my home town is at this time of year.  It’s been warm - mostly in the 60s - and there has been sunshine and skies clear enough to enable me to see the Sierra Nevada mountains nearly every day.  The daylight is lasting a bit longer with each sunrise and that’s been very nice as well.  



Spring is my favorite season, always.  The slow arrival of blooms and greenery feels like a yearly unearned miracle unfolding before my eyes; each day bringing us something new to admire.  Even a mild Winter, like the one we’ve mostly experienced in New Jersey this year, is cold.  As it drags on, I long for the easy days of warmer weather and my joy in the arrival of Spring is always unmeasured and unbound.

Being in California now is, of course, a respite from our cold.  That I’m here helping my mother to transition to life without her husband of 58 years is a reminder that our time on earth passes quickly.  But there is sunshine and daffodils have begun to bloom, two things my dad would have enjoyed, and I take comfort in that.

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