Spring Break - written 2020

Hi there. Happy Earth Day. This morning, fittingly in a strange way, we woke up to this.

I have to say, my heart sank a little, despite the fact that it was beautiful and it is only April. Of course it was gone in a flash, and then it was just a common spring day in Vermont.

That's the thing about April in Vermont. It is so full of hope and potential and the assurance that blue sky and green grass will come.

But it is still a tough month.

There are so many of these temporary, transient disappointments and then recovery and promise. I guess I never really realized how much April in Vermont is like all of life.

I had to go into town where really no one was around, in an already sleepy town. But these gals were out and enjoying the fresh air. I was glad for their company.

April in Vermont, this year especially, can be lonely, when the snow takes us by surprise.

I spent the whole day thinking about it. Strangely, though, I kept coming back to how much strength we can find in the solitude that comes with winter.

We all want it and need it so often.

Even extroverts who feel charged being around others, they also need the opportunity to have a quiet mind.

These days, they are so full. As parents if we are not careful, we can give so much that we have nothing little left to offer when the next emotional snowfall comes. We are at the mercy of search and rescue.

But these snowfalls always come. We wake up after some bright sunny days, and there they are. Powerful and capricious, taking us by surprise. Life is just like April in Vermont.

Tomorrow, I am going to wake up and try to take a little time to think about how I can be a better parent, partner, person. And I am going to try to find time for Scott to do it too. The kids actually need us to do it, Spring Break or not.

The growth happens, little by little. And after the snow melts we see the tiny sprouts that somehow were untouched by the frost. Maybe even better for it.

I want to be those sprouts.

xo,

Dr. Swae