Waiting for Spring

Winter lingered long this year, an unbidden guest that has outstayed its welcome. Days after the last clumps of snow have melted on the ground, the chilly temperature dragged on bringing with it frosty mornings and thick mists hovering over the City of Seven Hills. 

It was a landscape so different from a year ago when as early as the end of February, the snowdrops have already fleeted away in hibernation and crocuses in their vibrant colours - violent, white and yellow - carpeted the grounds of Hillsborough Park. Along the pathways, rows of tulips and daffodils have sprung up, their flowers ready to unfold in a few weeks time. When we came back a month later from our extended holiday in Central Europe, they were all gone, replaced by the cherry blossoms in full bloom. 

Where autumn speaks of tragic endings, spring evokes hopeful beginnings that when it arrives, it wipes away the memories of the colourless winter days just gone. Perhaps the long wait for spring is in fact character building - it teaches you patience and gratefulness. Patience to carry on until the end of the dark tunnel and gratefulness for the light that awaits you there.