I marched off into the woods after a busy day. Everywhere I had been, people gleefully talked about the coming of spring. “Good riddance, winter” was the theme of the day. Admittedly, I too was tired of slogging through the snow in my boots. And it did feel good to walk with my coat open and gloves off.
The air over top the snow was much cooler than in the places where the strong sunshine had melted everything. The shallow spots of the creek had become swift rapids of melt water. On the muddy, warm banks I found green shoots emerging.
Change was coming hard and fast.
Then, I saw it. A stark reminder to appreciate the moment exactly as it was. I didn’t hunt it down to identify the species. I didn’t need to know. Illuminated by the sun, the swarm looked enough like little mosquitoes to change my state of mind.
Other insects often mistaken for mosquitoes
Suddenly, my boots didn’t feel so uncomfortable, even though my socks had wiggled down below my heals as they too often do. Suddenly the snow felt like a pillow instead of an impediment. Suddenly the air felt fresh instead of chilly. I made a commitment to stop dreaming of the spring weather to come and start seeing how perfect things were right then, free of all the pesky flying things.
Take your time, spring. I’m happy right now.
