La primavera

Happy Spring!

Spring has always been my favorite season.  Most people assume it's because my birthday happens to be the first day of spring, but the real reason is the anticipation of new life that spring brings.  As a New Englander, winters were long and harsh growing up.  The snow, the ice, the cold, the darkness...by March, it seemed like it would never end.  People seemed miserable; no one could stand to be outside for more than an hour or so.  And then, suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, there'd be a nice day.  The air would feel crisp but the sky would be clear.  Everyone would find an excuse to go outside with a T-shirt and flip-flops, even if the thermometer said the temperature was only 50 degrees.  There would be a great sense of hope that summer would come, that all the dead plants would re-bloom.  My mood would suddenly lighten and be full of anticipation.  At this time, I would begin dreaming of the last day of school and the beginning of a lazy summer at the beach and by the pool with my friends and family.

Being in Savannah has really messed with my natural understanding of the seasons.  As much as I appreciated not being in the dreadful winter this year, it's strange not anticipating spring.  We had approximately 3 weeks of "cold" here, but even that was never actually bitter.  Over the past month or so, the amount of pollen in the air has exploded and the azaleas and roses in my front yard are actively blooming.  Yesterday, on the last official day of winter, it was 90 degrees here and I ended up swimming in the Atlantic Ocean.  The warm weather has convinced my mind that July 15 must be near, but alas, I still have 117 days left in Savannah.

If you can't tell, I'm starting to feel very ready for my experience here to come to an end.  I love my patients and the clinic, but I'm finding myself constantly feeling exhausted.  I feel very frustrated with many bureaucratic things going on here, and at this point it's like I'm just spinning my wheels.  I'm trying to remain positive, but I've lost a lot of my energy and my idealism over the past few months.  I can only hope that spring will refresh and renew me...