I am NOT normally a spring person.
I grew up in Pittsburgh. "Spring" -- March, April, May -- regularly meant that you were still needing snow boots and down parkas. Sure, sometimes you'd get the one-off gorgeous day, but look closely at plenty a Pittsburghese prom photo and you'll see shivers under the best Macy's formalwear (or wherever kids these days shop) . To me, spring always felt like a nasty sort of trick that way: I'd already be sick of the cold gray days of winter (and trust me, for all its wodners, Pittsburgh can have a lot of them), but all the stores were showing off cute summery clothes and I'd be salilvating with jealously over the more-monied friends who could take actual spring breaks (and this was PRE-social media, so I didn't even have to see it. I just got to see them packing shorts while I was looking for a second sweater while fighting my dad over whether it was OK to keep the furnace on in April)
(Actual footage of Pittsburgh Dads getting ready for Easter Mass)
When I first moved to Washington, D.C. for college, though, I started to really GET spring. Come March, things actually warmed up. I got my first taste of those iconic cherry blossoms in my freshman year, and it was early April.
I mean, how can you NOT love this stuff?
Though I also developed my first cases of seasonal allergies (hello sinuses!), spring continued to make me bloom (yup, pun intended) in new ways.
Sure, there's a lot that can make living in the DMV (DC-Maryland-Northern Va.) frustrating. The cost of rent or real estate for one, the traffic for another. The sometimes transient feeling nature of a city where politics is such a big employer. But spring? When this time hits town, I'd be hard pressed to say there's anywhere better to be.
My new obsessions: redbuds
My favorite place for a "sneak it in" run -- the small county park near the college where I teach -- has introduced me to my new favorite, a guy so beautiful he can give the cherry blossoms a run for their money: it's called the Eastern Redbud, and it's got these gorgeous deep purple-y flowers that look so awesome against green leaves and blue skies.
Last week, I realized they were at their final touch before they turned to leaves. Alas, climate change means we've had more summery days than springy ones this April, so it all passed very quickly. So, I decided to make the most of it, heading to work a bit earlier so I could have the grand indulgence of a full hour to myself.
And wouldn't you know it, my new bud-dies (ha! I am so punny) pushed me on. I made my longest run in 3 years
I get by with a little help from my (tree) friends
Spring has sprung me, indeed : )
What are your favorite running seasons?
