Those Sneaky Seasons

By G. E. Shuman


I have been thinking lately, about the seasons.  I guess that means I have too much time on my hands, or, perhaps, that for me too much time has gone by. I know that sounds like a contradiction.  It’s just that spring has now completely sprung; flowers are forming, trees are budding, grass is growing, and even mowers have begun mowing in our neighborhood.  I can‘t help but notice those things.  Last winter was a strange one here in the North, to be sure; milder than any other I can recall, and spring came early, as you know.  There was no huge shifting from winter to spring this year.  This time around, we just sort of slid from colder, darker days into warmer, brighter ones without much fanfare, or even much melting snow.  I did enjoy those milder-than-usual months since fall.  My snow blower might as well have winter-vacationed in Florida, as I didn’t use it, not even once.  I have never enjoyed owning that machine so much.  My son in law Adam once told me: “A snow blower is like life insurance.  You need it, but you never want to use it.”  I wish I had said that one first.
Yes, spring sort of snuck up on me this time, but I’m now thinking that this is not so unusual at all.  Sultry summer seems to always do the same, followed by fall, and then winter.  The seasons are tricky things, you know.  Tricky, tricky, tricky things. Yes, the days are getting noticeably longer now, but it is happening very gradually, very sneakily, and will continue to do so, right up until the moment they begin getting shorter again, so silently, and soooo sneakily.  Spring will soon simply turn to summer, and the tomato plants I have just started will suddenly have green fruit.  Several weeks later those green balls will be red. Several weeks after that they will be in my refrigerator and my salads, just as others were, only last year.  Then the cooler, darker days will slowly creep back, and we will wonder where summer has gone.  Big orange pumpkins that are now only seeds, will be everywhere.
Life is short.  There is no doubt about that. Time does fly when you’re having fun, and it flies even faster when you’re having grandkids.  I have heard that years pass more quickly for older people, because each year is a smaller percentage of the total time they have lived.  I’m not sure if I believe that, but it seems to make sense.  I do believe that we don’t always notice those sneaky seasons as they approach, stay a short while, and then leave again.  I hope we realize that as they do so, they are not simply a repeat of the four seasons of all previous years.  All is not the same.  This year we are a little older than last.  Some of us are a little grayer, (This assumes that grayer is possible.),  but, hopefully, a little wiser.  The wrinkles are a bit deeper, the eyes, perhaps, a bit weaker.  Children grow up, graduations happen; so do weddings and those wonderful grandchildren.
Don’t be fooled by the seasons as they roll around again, each one creeping up on you, just as it did last year.  Seasons may seem cyclical, but life is not. Life is ever-changing and never repeating.  This time last year no longer exists; this time next year never has existed, yet.  Enjoy today, and cherish this sneaky springtime as if it were the only one we have,  because that‘s exactly what it is.