The seasons are shifting, The winter shades lifting,
The springtime is filling
Earth's children with mirth.
The daffodil yellow, The south wind so mellow,
The gentle rain falling,
Upon the green earth.
The song sparrow singing, New life quickly springing,
All nature is telling
A tale of rebirth:
The deep wells of being, Beyond each day's seeing,
O'er flowing with new Life,
Restoring the earth.

-David E Bumbaugh

Not that it surprises me anymore, but wow, a sunny day can has to power to change anyones disposition. Not that I was particularly miserable or sad, I think it was just being stuck inside with a box of tissue for the past two days that had me feeling some what less than my happy self. However I woke up to the sun greeting me at my window, my cold a little less ruthless and my nose not so sneezy, so I knew it was going to be a good day!

One thing I have noticed and appreciated since being here, in this sleepy little town of Werneck is that unlike Australia, the seasons here are so distinct and purposeful. Don’t get me wrong, any Australian will tell you that we have four seasons and this is obvious, I mean heck, winter can get down to what like 8 degrees!! And summer, well we all know what a 45 degree day locked in a classroom feels like. But here, on the other side of the world, the seasons, they are different. Winter is cold, ok thats an understatement, but here everything dies, nothing grows, except for maybe apples and waistlines, even the carrots and potatoes they often have to import, so let’s not even talk about exotic fruits and vegetables like bananas and broccoli. The grass turns brown the trees loose leaves and while you are walking around in a winter wonderland, you are also walking around with trees that resemble skeletons. 

It’s beautiful of course, breathtaking even, however if this season, this cold was to extend the whole year round...well, it would start to steal our joy I’d say. But just about the time you think “I have had enough” you notice a sprout, a little tiny bloom of hope that says spring is coming, hold on it will be here soon. That’s what it’s like here now, the fields are still bare and the trees still skeletons, but on my daily walking I am noticing more and more tiny like bursts of spring, bursts of joy, the people know it, the birds know it, and I know it! It’s an amazing thing to see, ofcourse I noticed in Australia as well, though gum trees never lost their leaves and things were still quite green even in winter. 

And so, I am sitting on the balcony overlooking the fields that any day now will start sprouting and looking as though they have been splashed with green and yellow, I am soaking up this glorious sun, listening to music that moves my soul to dance, grateful for the winter,  but welcoming the spring with open arms. It's also bringing hope of a year of change, I know that there will be times this year where the seasons seem to drag on and I will at times I'm sure feel a little tired, homesick, lonely, but then I'll remember, spring follows every winter, and day every night...