Spring Body
Loving Yourself Through the Seasons
Spring, like any transition, can be a tough time. Pulling out of winter with new expectations. Lighter days are filled with pressure to enjoy them. The opposite of what has helped me get through the first few months of the year. You see, to survive the midwest winter, the answer at the end of the day is to always go to bed. Make peace with hygge. Settle in. Go slow. You get in a rhythm of nothingness. At first, it feels lazy, boring, and depressing, but after a while, it’s the new norm. That’s all you know. Each time I walk through the front door after dark (4 pm) my body robotically pulls me upstairs, into my pajamas, and in bed with a book. I am an extroverted party girl, but this type of hibernation starts to suit even me.
Then spring comes with chaotic energy. An unpredictability. Praise be for warmer weather! I start to dream of campfires and patio season. These ideas are immediately crushed by rain and sometimes a wintry mix of snow. A whole new responsibility appears as I shed the outer layers. Ironically, it weighs heavier on me when I take off the puffy coat with the snow’s departure and a neglected, weed-filled yard arrives out of nowhere. The lawn gives her a big, good morning stretch, after a winter’s long slumber. Many whiskers have grown in inappropriate places; her morning breath is rancid.
