Springtime color

Springtime is my favorite.

For so many reasons.

While I love winter and the cold air and bundling up and cozy, homey days, there is something missing in wintertime.  There is an incredibly unfortunate lack of color.  The sky is gray.  The trees have been stripped of all brightness.  The grass turns brown.  Everything seems subdued and stagnant.

But when the first days of spring arrive and you begin to feel just a touch of warmth, suddenly the world is filled with color.  And it is the stark contrast of the lack of winter color held next to the brightness of spring that makes it all the more brilliant.  I feel as though I am overwhelmed by color.  Surrounded by life and growth and newness.  Spring, quite simply, makes me happy.

Spring is when the world starts growing again.  From plants to people, life seems to come alive and click back into place in springtime.  Watching things grow is at the top of the list of things I enjoy.  When things are growing, possibilities seem endless.  Life seems unstoppable.  Doors are swung wide open, shedding light on new paths and into long-forgotten corners.  Anything can happen in the springtime.

Springtime in first grade is one of the most amazing times of the year.  In April, all those little ones who have seemed to struggle to grow up until this point suddenly begin to sprout and bloom.  They jump reading levels at speeds that seemed unattainable.  Math starts to really make sense.  And all those little skills and strategies that you've been teaching all year suddenly seem to click into place.  Being a first grade teacher in the springtime always reminds me exactly why I chose the job I did, and why I love it so much.

For the past few days in Seattle, we've been experiencing an uncommonly early, warm, clear spring.  This weather is supposed to last at least until Thursday, which I am grateful for seeing as I am now on spring break.  I know that we will probably pay dearly for these days with long months of rainy 50 degree weather in April and May, so I am soaking in every ounce of brightness I can right now.

I took Lucy for a walk after work on Friday, and couldn't help but smile at each and every pop of color.  I simply had to document it all with pictures while Lucy sniffed away at new spring smells in the grass.  The colors of spring are dynamic and varied and beautiful.

Color fills the trees:

It grows from weeds:

Hangs in bushes:

And pops from flowers in all shapes and sizes:

Even the whites seem to burst with color:

And of course the blue brilliance of the sky is unbeatable.

Color is filling up life right now.  Up until this week, I had been consumed by the dullness of lackluster, cold, dreary days.  But springtime has arrived and life is in full color.  The world is growing and changing outside.  And, while it lasts, I'm going to spend every moment I can outside.  And when I can't be out in it, I'm going to swing my door wide, open all the windows, and try to absorb the energy and newness that life is throwing my way.