Springing Forward...

I'm ready for spring.

While this winter really hasn't been any longer than any other, it seems at times as if it's lasted for a year (at least), and I'm anxious for it to end. I'm ready to see spring flowers pop through the melting mounds of snow; I'm ready to be awakened by birds chattering outside my window. I miss the warmth, the sunshine, and the long, lazy days of summer. I miss long walks, barbeques, and afternoons spent in the hammock with an engrossing novel.

Winter is cold and dark, the ground covered with snow and ice, the trees brown and bare. Nature is sleeping--I feel like I am sleeping--and I'm ready for the sun to begin creeping up over the horizon to reveal that dawn--and spring--is fast approaching.

I recognize that with the arrival of spring, the end of this busy semester draws near--and a new life, a new perspective, awaits. Longer days and small, green buds on the tree branches represent for me the beginning of a new journey, the rebirth of hope and optimism, and I'm suddenly anxious to begin seeing the signs that mark this new direction.

I'm reminded by a quote from Anne Bradstreet: "If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome."

This year, spring is most welcome.

Friends...

Recently, after moving clear across the country, I've discovered just how much I value my friends. Don't get me wrong; I've always known that I was incredibly lucky to even know these beautiful, vibrant, intelligent women--it's just that now I realize just how much joy they have contributed to my life on a daily basis.

I miss them.

I miss afternoons in the coffee shop, chatting about writing, gossiping about people we know, sharing ideas, and lending one another support during whatever latest trauma or drama one of us was surely experiencing.

I miss late-night phone calls, when we might have deeply philosophical discussions about life, writing, theory, and teaching.

I miss knowing that if I needed to vent--about my husband, my kids, my job, my students--all I had to do was pick up the phone, and someone would say, "The coffee shop? 3:00?" or maybe, "Come on over. I'll be here."

They have supported me through some of the most challenging times in my life, and now that I've moved 3,000 miles away, I'm even more certain that these weren't friendships built out of convenience, but friendships built on a foundation of trust, respect, and yes--even love.

Each of them has taught me so much--about life, but even more importantly, about myself. One of the things I've learned is not to take friendships lightly, but to embrace them, cherish them, and nurture them.

I may have moved away, but whether they realize it or not, I brought both of them with me. They're in my heart and on my mind every single day.