Color. Chaos. And the audacity to believe that the cold couldn't last forever.
After winter, we don't get a guarantee of warmth. We get the opportunity for warmth. And that is enough. So, what is after winter?
If you have felt "stuck" all winter (physically or emotionally), the scent of wet earth is the signal that movement is allowed again. Winter is for survival. It is for hibernation, for rest, for looking inward.
First, the sky turns from iron grey to a soft blue. Then, the grass finds a hint of green. Finally—explosively—the tulips and daffodils break through the dead leaves. After winter, we get our color vision back. There is a specific scent that only exists when the ground thaws for the first time. It is cold, metallic, but alive. It is the smell of microbes waking up, of roots stirring.
Here is what really comes after winter. Before the cherry blossoms and the pastel Easter eggs, there is the "Mud Season." Biologically, winter doesn’t just hand the baton to spring. It fights.
