Spring and Snowflakes

Had a pretty good feeling that it would snow on the first day of spring this year. Having been born and raised in the Midwest, I know that this is fairly common. I also know, however, that snow on the first day of spring is usually the last snow, or close to it. March is a funny month. You can beware the Ides, or you can get smart and just beware the entire 31 days.

Two days ago, Mother Nature was teasing us with temperatures near 70, and full sunshine. On Thursday evening, Kat and I took a long walk after work—the first I’ve taken outside since fall. As the sun headed west, the temperatures dropped rather swiftly, but it still felt amazing to be out in the sunshine. The lake path was bustling, some of the fencing along the sand had already been removed, and a group of die-hard volleyball players were manning a net on the beach. That day, everyone joked about the beautiful weather, and the impending weekend snow. Sure enough, I awoke to see the heavy snowflakes falling this morning, and they’ve remained steady all day.

Okay, snow. Bring it on. Because soon—so soon you can already smell it in the air—summer will descend upon Lake Michigan, Millennium Park, the Mag Mile, and all will be well in Chi-town. In fact, all already is well, as the excitement for the season builds and Chicagoans increasingly take to the outdoors. In fact, last night one of my friends mentioned that they’d seen the first sailboat of the season out on the lake this week. Sally forth, lone sailboat. Soon, you’ll be joined by many others. We can hardly wait.