For, Lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone.—Song of Solomon 2:11
I spotted my bus turning the corner a couple of blocks away and I raced to catch it, darting through pedestrians, crossing the street against a flashing DON’T WALK sign, nearly running into a car. I could have gotten hit, I suppose, but all I was thinking was I have to get that bus!
On Sunday afternoon buses don’t come that often. And what would I do if I had to wait 15 minutes for another one?
Despite my athletic prowess I still missed it. Now there was nothing to do but walk. In a huff I began my hike through the park, taking big strides on the path that wound under the pine trees.
It was early spring, the sky gray but the grass lime green, daffodils pushing up under the trees. A Little League team had gathered in a pine grove to practice. The wobbly tosses and swings proved it was early in the season. A kid raced past me on his bicycle, and a golden retriever scurried after a squirrel.
I slowed my step. The smell of the damp earth, the sight of the buds, the sound of the whacked ball gave me a feeling of gladness. Winter was done. Spring was here. And to think, if I hadn’t missed my bus, I would have missed it.
God, I love spring!
