No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow

"April prepares her green traffic light and the world thinks 'Go.'"
—Christopher Morley

Living in Arkansas, where you can practically blink and miss winter, made me forget how much appreciated the arrival of spring can be. Living in New York has made the arrival of the season much anticipated, particularly after a very cold, very wet Monday this week where I unintentionally walked the wrong direction going somewhere and arrived at my destination longing for warmth with jeans soaked practically to the knee.

All week I eagerly discussed the 80 degree weather predicted to be coming this weekend with colleagues, random friars in the elevator and a college classmate I bumped into on the subway platform. I was skeptical when Thursday was still fairly cold and trying not to get my hopes up Friday morning when it was still relatively chilly. I was even doubtful Saturday morning when I checked the temperature to find it was in the high 50s.

But sure enough, the temperature rose as the day went on and by the time I was ready to venture out it was somewhere in the 80s, just as promised.

Its amazing how much warmer weather can brighten a day and beckon you to be outside. Yesterday I walked to the grocery store and made a pasta salad for lunch (I also bought some strawberries and angel food cake for strawberry shortcake). After a bible study later in the evening, I couldn't believe I wasn't shivering in my short sleeves when the sun went down.

I strolled to church in warm weather for the first time this morning and took more time than usual making my way home. But that wasn't enough time outside for me. Sitting in my apartment knowing how warm and sunny it was outside I decided to go for a walk with no real destination. So I headed toward Williamsburg (the neighborhood next to Greenpoint, often described as being full of hipsters*) and the park. Mostly I just walked in and out of shops and didn't buy anything, although I did end up getting a few more groceries, a couple of blisters, and possibly a slight sunburn on my back (too soon to tell).

All in all, it was a lovely excursion that left me truly appreciating living in a place where I am walking distance to pretty much anything I need (not the case in Ohio) as well as some things I don't need but are still very interesting.

So now the important question: Is the weather going to stay this way? Well, the weather channel is predicting highs in the 80s tomorrow, and a high of 90(!) on Tuesday. Honestly, 90 degrees might be a little high for me, especially in April. After that it trickles down into the 60s and 70s.

And with that, I am exhausted.



*Definition of hipster, per UrbanDictionary.com: Listens to bands that you have never heard of. Has hairstyle that can only be described as "complicated." (Most likely achieved by a minimum of one week not washing it.) Probably tattooed. Maybe gay. Definitely cooler than you. Reads Black Book, Nylon, and the Styles section of the New York Times. Drinks Pabst Blue Ribbon. Often. Complains. Always denies being a hipster. Hates the word. Probably living off parents money — and spends a great deal of it to look like they don't have any. Has friends and/or self cut hair. Dyes it frequently (black, white-blonde, etc. and until scalp bleeds). Has a closet full of clothing but usually wears same three things OVER AND OVER (most likely very tight black pants, scarf, and ironic tee-shirt). Chips off nail polish artfully after $50 manicure...