“Word Nerd Wednesday” is a weekly series that uses language to help us think differently and solve old problems in new ways.
There is a spirited debate every year about when Spring starts here in New England. Meteoroglogical Spring started March 1st, but it was 22° F this morning. Sorry, that’s not Spring in my book! Astronomical Spring starts March 20th, but I’ve lived through enough April and May snow storms to know it’s too early to break out the flip-flops.
Then I had an epiphany…Spring is not a date on the calendar, it is an experience.
The experience starts for me the first time I see daffodils and/or tulips in the grocery store flower section (not yet). For many of my neighbors the trigger is the first Red Sox Spring Training game (Feb 28), opening day at Fenway (April 1), or the first time they notice buds on the bare trees outside their window.
The dictionary offered an even more poetic definition – Spring is any time or season of growth or development. Following that logic I could argue it’s always Spring. People are constantly growing and developing, even when plants are not. I like that. It captures the emotional experience I associate with Spring – forward-looking, optimisitc, excited for what’s to come.
What triggers the start of the Spring experience for you?
