Early Spring

Spring comes early here. Every year it surprises me to hear bird song in January and see the green shoots of daffodils be the first of February. The days that, a month ago, seemed impossibly short, dark and wet suddenly open up into the chill, bright sunlight and mud of early spring. This is my sixth spring in this climate, but still it surprises me every year. 

For the next four months the spring will slowly quicken around me as the sun grows warmer and lingers longer. Lexi will once more spend hours a day basking in shifting patches of light on the carpet. Gareth will begin planing Lent and Holy Week. In four months my world will completely change. 

Actually, it is less than four months now. Finally, after five years of tears and struggles I am nearing the moment of victory. The end is in sight. A few more weeks of writing, a month or so of editing and proof reading, and it will be done, sent to the printers, submitted, released. 

For the last three or four months I have thought of myself as finishing in the spring, around Easter, but I forgot how early the spring comes here. Suddenly it is close. So much is set to happen this year. My whole life will change. When I am no longer 'doing a PhD' what will I be?

There was a time that question filled me with dread. Now the fear is greatly mitigated by excitement, dreams and, above all, hope. 

The spring comes early here, and I still have work to do before Easter.