Spring is in the air

Can you smell the delicate fragrances?

By Margaret Matthews, Contributor

At last, the long and dreary winter that we’ve experienced for the last five months has finally decided to make its way out, like a houseguest who has overstayed their welcome.

After days of pouring rain, fog, and gloom, we’re blessed with days of sunshine, chirping birds, and Mother Nature waking up from hibernation. The Earth pushes shoots of green out of the ground, and the fresh air is rejuvenating. People who have been indoors most of the winter, especially the elderly living in rest homes and suffering from mental disorders like depression seem to have mood swings at the upper level as the sun shines down on them.

Alfred Tennyson, in his poem “Locksley Hall,” said “In the spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love.” That can also be said of the older generation, as I recall an elderly gentleman who had fought in WWII singing in his faltering voice “when it’s springtime in the Rockies, I’ll be coming back to you…” In fact, springtime has been linked to the lyrics of many a love song, and also portrayed in dance and drama.

There is something about springtime that evokes such emotion in the hearts of humanity, both in the older people as well as the younger ones. Valentine’s Day falls right smack in the middle of winter, and lovers go through the motions of sending flowers, cards, and chocolates to the object of their affections; yet it’s more like a ritual—it isn’t until the spring weather arrives that such emotions are truly evoked.

Spring flowers bloom with purple crocuses, yellow daffodils, pink cherry blossoms, and white apple blossoms that captivate the senses of sight and smell. Just take a walk down Cambie Street in Vancouver, with its pink cherry blossoms lined on either side of the street for blocks on end, and you will feel like a bride walking down the aisle on her wedding day.

While other parts of Canada and the US are still blanketed in snow, we in the south coast of British Columbia can enjoy the beauty of our province and consider ourselves lucky. It can rightfully be said that British Columbia is the best place on earth to live. If some pessimists disagree with this saying, and focus on the downside of living here, they’ll have to learn not to take things for granted.

I personally wish that spring would consider taking up permanent residence here in British Columbia. However, she is transient and, like a butterfly, cannot be caught and caged. Besides, she is well-mannered and does not like to wear out her welcome. So embrace and enjoy her while she is here with us for a short while.