Springs Past

One thing I think that this pandemic period has brought is the opportunity to reflect. I’ve heard from one friend was reading her old journals. I asked another friend if she was missing travel and she mentioned that she was enjoying recalling trips in her past. Those time-traveling friends have inspired this post reaching back into a spring (or two) of the past.

Without a doubt, the most dramatic arrival of spring I experienced was when I lived in Poland. The winter was pretty harsh – whipping frigid winds, coal dust in the air that stuck to your face and clothes and months of darkness. When spring started to emerge, it was like no other – a completely tender and sweet lamb to the winter lion’s roar. People became friendlier and the country took on a completely different feel.

A March 2013 business trip to Japan brought me another very memorable experience of spring. I had arrived a day in advance of the trade show I was attending. As I often do, I tried to be as active as possible on that free day in hopes of tiring myself out and resetting my sleep clock to minimize jet lag.

While I had just one day for free-time exploration, I hit the absolute jackpot when I decided to visit the Imperial Palace in Tokyo during early spring bloom. It was so beautiful – an oasis in a busy city. Seeing my photos again brought back the joy of the moment. I hope they enliven your day or remind you of a beautiful spring in your own past. Please feel free to share a memory or two in the chat below or via email if you’d like.