Contrast

I took this shot yesterday, my lone little hyacinth popping out of the snow. I love the contrast between the colorful spring flower and the icy white stuff that is just about engulfing it. It's like a promise, even though it's downright frigid out there, this lil guy is promising that warmer times are just around the bend.

Growing up in California, the flowers that came from bulbs may as well have been from another planet. It just didn't get cold enough there to leave them in the ground and allow them to "do their thing" year after year. Every time I visited Utah I was astounded by all the tulips, crocus, daffodils and hyacinth! It was always such a beautiful thing for me to see, being so foreign.

One of the things I love about living in Utah is the constant changing of the seasons. We have wild weather here sometimes. It is far from the consistent weather I grew up with, which was generally between 60-80 degrees, and some rain in the winter. Most of our cars didn't even have a/c because we didn't need it.

The nice thing about 4 distinct seasons, is that you have certain ways of living during those seasons, traditions, if you will.

Here is a list, from a kid's point of view:

In the fall, you head back to school when it is still warm. You mourn the loss of your flip-flops. You rake the leaves and jump in them for hours before Mom and Dad finally decide they need to be bagged and put on the curb until the pick-up day.

In the winter, it gets chilly and you wait for it to snow! Snow means sledding, snowmen, ice fishing, ice caves, shoveling the driveway, and HOT CHOCOLATE! Snow means Thanksgiving and Christmas aren't far behind!

Spring is when it finally warms up enough to not wear a coat. It gets warm for a week around the beginning of March. Out come the bikes and scooters! Out come the short sleeves. Then it snows again and they all get put away for a month more, until the REAL Spring starts sometime around Memorial Day!

Summer is when school lets out. Summer means HEAT and popsicles and swing sets. Kiddie pools and trips to the community pool with friends, burning the soles of your feet as you wait in line for the snack bar. Camping trips and hiking adventures. Visits to see cousins and Grandma and Grandpa's house.

There is something to celebrate about each season, something to appreciate in all. And very much like the necessity of knowing sadness in order to recognize the joy in your life, you must have cold, to enjoy the warmth of the sun. A hot relentless day in order to enjoy the breeze of another. The barren dark days of winter to enjoy the rebirth of Spring. You need contrast. That's what I'm thankful for during this transition of seasons.